He grabs a female traffic officer from behind, lifts her off the ground and rubs his face against her private parts. Two days later, he climbs onto the bonnet of a local police car and hurls a metal chair at officers. For these two incidents, which took place in Bellaria Igea Marina, Bologna’s Court of Review (Tribunale del Riesame) has ordered daily reporting to judicial police for a 55-year-old man, officially resident in Borghi, near Cesena, but effectively homeless.
The first assault took place on the evening of 16 August, at the intersection of Via Pascoli and Via Panzini. According to investigators’ reconstruction, the man, shirtless, first mimicked the gestures of the officer as she directed traffic, then surprised her from behind and pinned her legs. A passer-by intervened to stop the assault, putting the attacker to flight.
Another bystander filmed the scene on their smartphone. The footage, handed over to local police, allowed the 55-year-old to be identified. Forty-eight hours later, the man, in a severe state of alcoholic intoxication, was involved in the second incident: he climbed onto the bonnet of a patrol car and threw the chair at officers who had arrived to identify him.
After Rimini’s preliminary investigations judge (gip) rejected a request for precautionary measures, deputy prosecutor Davide Ercolani filed an appeal, citing the sexual nature of the assault and the risk of reoffending. The Court of Review partially upheld the appeal, finding serious grounds for guilt on charges of sexual violence and resisting a public official, and ordered the man to report daily to police.
Traffic officer sexually assaulted while directing traffic in Bellaria: daily reporting order for 55-year-old
The officer was restrained and lifted off the ground. The Court of Review found serious grounds for sexual violence charges and ordered daily reporting to judicial police
A 55-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a female traffic officer while she was directing traffic in Bellaria Igea Marina. According to investigators, the man surprised her from behind, pinned her legs and lifted her off the ground, then rubbed his face against her private parts. He was stopped by a passer-by, who came to the officer’s aid and chased him off.
The incident occurred on the evening of 16 August, at the intersection of Via Pascoli and Via Panzini. The man, shirtless, first mimicked the officer’s gestures before grabbing her. Another bystander filmed the assault on their smartphone: the footage, handed to local police, led to the identification of the 55-year-old, officially resident in Borghi, near Cesena, but effectively without a fixed address.
Bologna’s Court of Review became involved in the case after deputy prosecutor Davide Ercolani filed an appeal following the rejection of a precautionary measure request by Rimini’s preliminary investigations judge. The prosecutor pointed to the sexual nature of the act and the concrete risk of reoffending.
Judges partially upheld the appeal, finding serious grounds for guilt on charges of sexual violence and resisting a public official, and ordered the man to report to judicial police on a daily basis. The resisting-arrest charge relates to a second incident, which occurred 48 hours later: the 55-year-old, severely intoxicated, climbed onto the bonnet of a patrol car and threw a metal chair at officers who had come to identify him.
