American Rape Case: Pre-Trial Hearings

The two American students who filed rape charges against the two carabiniere military policemen, were present at a closed hearing in Florence  on November 21.

The alleged rape took place on September 7 on a landing in the apartment building near Ponte Vecchio where the the students lived.

The two women studying abroad, 19 and 21 years old, were questioned at Santa Verdiana by judge Mario Profeta. Only the judge, the women and a translator were in the room.

The District Attorney, Ornella Galeoti and the lawyers were present via video conference.

Officers Pietro Costa and Marco Camuffo previously admitted to consensual sex with the women, but denied rape. The first student was questioned for seven hours and the second’s interrogation went into the night. The lawyers defending the carabinieri wrote a list of 250 questions for the students. One third of the questions were denied by the judge such as, if the women thought the carabinieri were “sexy” and what underwear they were wearing on the night of the alleged rape.

After the 12-hour interrogation period, Costa’s lawyer, Giogio Carta, argued that one of the students saved Costa’s phone number in her cellphone after the alleged rape. The student denied the claim. Both women confirmed their initial accusations without hesitation. (deanna carbone)