Overview
- The Ancona appeals court convicted the 31-year-old of sexual violence in a lesser-gravity form and set a three-year prison term, reversing his earlier acquittal.
- Defense counsel said they will challenge the ruling before the Court of Cassation, with written motivations due within 90 days.
- The Macerata tribunal had acquitted after emphasizing the complainant’s prior sexual experience and perceived lack of overt resistance, and by crediting a defense forensic theory about a shoulder mark.
- In appellate arguments, Deputy Attorney General Cristina Polenzani sought a conviction (initially asking for four years and one month) and stressed that consent must be present throughout the encounter.
- The case has intensified calls from politicians and victims’ groups for an explicit consent statute in Italy, often framed as a 'solo sì è sì' standard.