Italian court: 'Nonvirginity lessens abuse charge'

[MaryJane]

Italian Courts Weigh Virginity of Sex Abuse Victim in Sentencing Perpetrators

ITALY: NONVIRGINITY LESSENS SEX ABUSE CHARGE, COURT SAYS
Sexually abusing a teenager is a less serious crime if the girl is not a virgin, Italy's highest court said in a ruling. The court ruled in favor of a man who forced his 14-year-old stepdaughter to have oral sex with him and appealed a prison sentence of 40 months, arguing that the fact that the girl had had sex with other men should have been taken into consideration at his trial as a mitigating factor. The court agreed, saying that because of the victim's previous sexual experiences, her "personality, from a sexual point of view," was more developed and that therefore the damage to her was less than if she had been a virgin. The decision, which drew a barrage of criticism, opened the way for the stepfather to get a lighter sentence.

http://www.idealog.us/2006/02/italian_courts_.html

[buttmunch]

Oh give me a break. This is such backwards, antiquated thinking and the scary thing is, it doesn't just exist in Italy. Someone should fuck one of these judges straight up the ass against thier will and then ask them if their past sexually history lessens the trauma. Fucktards.

[Tati]

Maybe it does lessen the emotional trauma. It probably would make a difference for me. But even were that the case, it in no way lessens the illegality and immorality of the act. A sick rapist is a sick rapist no matter to what degree the victim is traumatzied, and deserves to be punished accordingly.

[pacific breeze]

Blaming the victim syndrome is alive and well everywhere.

[Sojiita]

Insanity is alive and well in Italy.

[MaryJane]

What scares me most about this, or other shocking sentences, is that these judges surely interpret the laws in a very personal and questionable way, but still apply the EXISTING laws.
So in Italy we have such laws that allow judge to interpret them in such a way to come out in the end with a sentence like this.
This is the scariest thing.

Another story that's coming to my mind is very recent too, a few weeks ago.
Years ago a man killed a woman by stabbing her 70 times.
He got 25 years of prison.
After 10 years a judge gave him the so called "prize-permission" - he was allowed to spend some time out of prison.
During this time out he disappeared. The police had to look for him and catch him over again and take him back to prison.
After 5 more years in prison another judge gave him another "prize-permission".
This time while he was out he killed a "carabiniere" (member of the Italian police).
Now he's back in prison.

This means that the Italian law allows judges to let people with such a crime history out of prison with no control every few years.

Wow.

[Barbara]

The court later said that it had been a mistake, and that the sentence would be buried in ignominy.
But I think the damage has been done

[MaryJane]

^^^ Other members of the court said that.
The jugde who decided the sentence has remained unheard of, and anyway like you said, what others say is of very little help since nothing can be done anymore.

It's ridiculous that an absurde sentence like this one can't be changed anymore.
Even if it came out of the highest court there should be somebody - the President of the Minister of Justice - with the power to cancel it.

[Barbara]

Hmm, just a wild thought here: can't it be taken to some european court?

[MaryJane]

^^^ If every time that in Italy a sentence is unjust because too much in favour of the criminal the case was brought to some European court, the entire European Community would have no time to deal with any other issues

[UndercoverGator]

Some of the laws in Italy are a bit weird. For some years they had a law on their books that said someone with full blown AIDS could not be charged with any crime. Some guy with AIDS ran around robbing banks freely until that law was reconsidered.

[MrsDark]

Oh give me a break. This is such backwards, antiquated thinking and the scary thing is, it doesn't just exist in Italy. Someone should fuck one of these judges straight up the ass against thier will and then ask them if their past sexually history lessens the trauma. Fucktards.

^5 buttmunch! I read this story elsewhere and it made my blood boil!

[sputnik]

Some of the laws in Italy are a bit weird. For some years they had a law on their books that said someone with full blown AIDS could not be charged with any crime. Some guy with AIDS ran around robbing banks freely until that law was reconsidered.

LOL
if anything, italians are always entertaining.
i recently reas somewhere a quote by berlusconi saying 'I am the Jesus Christ of politics. I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone.'
then he compared himself to napoleon and he's the first one to do it as well since him.
and don't let me get started on his album of christmas songs...

[Sojiita]

Do they apply this insane logic to other cases there? Like if a person is mugged, if this is not the first time they have been mugged then is it less traumatic and the criminal gets a lighter sentence? It is just insanity!

[MaryJane]

^^^ Surely they can't apply the logic to murders.