Overview

• Police say the Aug. 19 assault on a 50-year-old cyclist on the Vivi Natura path involved binding with a rope, sexual violence and the theft of her e-bike.
• Investigators traced a suspect through an identikit and cell-tower analysis, leading the prosecutor to order a Sept. 30 home search.
• Officers seized clothing allegedly worn during the assault and the bike’s fork at the suspect’s residence, while the frame was later recovered from a canal in Castelfranco Emilia.
• Fingerprint comparisons on the victim’s phone and glasses matched the 20-year-old, who is accused of pluriaggravated sexual violence, aggravated robbery and aggravated injuries.
• Authorities describe the student, an Italian of Moroccan origin with no prior record, as having returned to the area multiple times, and the mayor publicly thanked investigators and voiced support for the victim.