Barman accused of raping British tourist in Italian nightclub toilet is arrested in Naples after ‘his DNA is found on her dress’
- The woman was at a bar with a friend last July when the alleged attack occurred
A bartender accused of raping a British tourist has been arrested by police in Italy after traces of his DNA were found on her clothes – eight months after she reported being attacked at a Naples nightclub.
The suspect allegedly served the young woman drinks and chatted with her while she was drinking at the bar with a friend in July last year.
When she went to the toilet, he followed her and brutally attacked her, according to local media reports.
She told police: ‘Suddenly he was on top of me and I saw his trousers down. There was no permission from me at all. I didn’t give permission.’
After the attack, the traumatized holidaymaker, believed to be in his early 20s, went to hospital and reported the incident to police, who launched an investigation.
A bartender accused of raping a British tourist has been arrested by police in Italy eight months after reporting she had been attacked at a Naples nightclub (file image)
Two French tourists are said to have helped the woman and her friend in the aftermath of the alleged attack by providing them with police contact details.
Although the woman returned to England, she cooperated with Italian authorities by providing DNA evidence and continued to help police track down her attacker.
She returned to Italy in December and provided prosecutor Mariangela Magariello and deputy prosecutor Raffaello Falcone with further statements and identification.
After examining the evidence, including video footage, police arrested the bartender yesterday.
Naples Judge Carla Sarno ordered him held under house arrest after prosecutors and the victim’s lawyer, Lucilla Longone, said there were concerns he might try to flee.
Italian media report that the suspect is 27 years old and was the owner of the bar, located in the city’s historic Decumani district.
According to the victim’s testimony, he saw the two British women passing by and invited them to his bar for a drink. Corriere della Sera reports.
The police are further investigating camera images and interviewing witnesses.
This case is part of the broader efforts of the Naples Public Prosecutor’s Office, especially the department dealing with gender violence.
The alarming statistics show that more than 5,000 cases of violence against women occur in Naples every year, which according to Il Mattino underlines the urgency of rapid and effective responses under the ‘red code’.
The case comes amid intense investigation into gender-based violence in Naples (file image)
These regulations, adopted in 2019, require a rapid and thorough investigation following a complaint of serious crimes such as sexual violence or domestic violence.
The case comes amid intense scrutiny of gender-based violence in Naples after two young girls – cousins aged 11 and 12 – were victims of a horrific gang rape by a group of teenagers in an abandoned sports complex last year.
That incident made headlines in Italy, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visiting the scene of the crime and meeting with local officials to organize a 10 million euro grant to revive the complex and dilapidated suburb to blow.
Meloni labeled the alleged rapes as “an inhuman act, a notorious crime that has really shocked everyone,” adding that there are “more stories like this than the ones that appear in the news.”