Italy became a nightmare for the 17-year-old schoolgirl from Russia Angelina C. who arrived there via the international exchange program.
On September 29 she was gang raped by 5 men from a small city of Acquapendente.
Angelina C. – Russian schoolgirl who became the victim of gang rape in Italy
Since the first report of this case by LifeNews.ru, the incident is closely followed by Russian media.
Below is the chronicle of events and updates (translated from Russian language) as it stands on October 8, 2012.
Schoolgirl from Russia raped in Italy
October 5, 2012 (source: http://lifenews.ru/news/102984)
17-year-old Angelina Charles arrived in a small Italian town Acquapendente on September 7 through a student exchange program organized by the Charitable Fund “Interculture” (AFS Russia).
She was deployed to the host family and began attending classes at the high school of Leonardo da Vinci (Liceo Scientifico Leonardo Da Vinci).
On her arrival the schoolgirl was told that accidents rarely happen in this small town with the population of about 6,000 people…
On September 29 Angelina and her friend from Norway went to a disco in the nearby town of Viterbo.
Later the girl identified the rapists on the photo in Facebook
- It was Saturday, - recalls Angelina. – At 11 p.m. I and Christina took a taxi and drove to the club. About 30-40 minutes later I received a text message from my host family asking me to urgently return. We tried to catch a taxi, but we were told that it was too late. Nearby we saw a group of guys with the car who were going to our city.
- We asked them to take us to the city and they agreed, – continues Angelina. – But as soon as we left, they turned on the loud music and started harassing us. Then they stopped the car near some woods and pulled us out of the car.
Using the threats five young men raped Angelina in turns. In the morning they took both girls to the gate of their house and fled.
The girl has documented her bruises in hospital
- I told about the incident to my host family, – says Angelina. – I was covered in blood, cuts and bruises. After passing the medical examination, I went to the police. Cops have not yet arrested the rapists. But they have already been identified. I’ve even found them in Facebook.
Hoping to get help from AFS, Angelina turned to a volunteer [from the fund which helped her to come to Italy]. However, in response she was blamed of violating the rules and told that she would be immediately deported from the country.
- Representatives of AFS contacted my parents in Russia and told them that I had provoked the situation myself and the sex was consensual. After that they advised them not to disclose anything. They stated that it would be in our best interest not to make the matter public – since otherwise both the reputation of my family and my future would suffer. – says the crying Angelina.
Angelina turned to the prosecutor’s office in Italy with the report about five local residents violently abusing her and to the Consulate of the Russian Federation. The Russian Consulate refused to help, saying that they did not have lawyers.
- My friend called the Russian Embassy in Rome, but he was told that they could not help, because they did not have lawyers. The same negative response was obtained from the Italian Embassy in Moscow and the Committee for Assistance to Foreigners Abroad, – said Angelina.
Representatives of the Russian Consulate in Rome could not answer why they hadn’t taken any action yet.
- The Embassy knows about the misfortune that happened to Angelina. Indeed, on October 1, there was an anonymous call which informed us about the incident. The consular officer immediately contacted Angelina. Report from the girl herself was received only on October 2. We had contacted the carabinieri involved in this affair, – commented the Advisor of the Russian Embassy in Italy, Sergey Patronov.
Comments of Russian netizens
eug: Shame on Italy and our embassy. позорная Италия и наше посольство
Olegg: Who would say that she is 17, huh??и кто скажет, что ей 17, а??
dfdf: And why her girlfriend wasn’t raped?А почему подругу не изнасиловали?
Nnnnn: Poor girl. I am shocked by the comments (((.Бедная девочка. В шоке от комментариев (((.
I think the girl is not telling the whole truth…Скорее всего дешушка что-то недоговаривает…
ggg: Came to study??? Sit and study!!!приехала учиться??? сиди и учись!!!
***
Let’s continue with the updates on this story…
Italians might get life imprisonment if their guilt is proved
October 5, 2012 (source: http://lifenews.ru/news/103004)
If the guilt of young men accused in the rape of the 17-year Russian schoolgirl is established, they might spend the rest of their lives behind the bars.
Marco P. was named by the Russian schoolgirl as one of her rapists
Three years ago Italian government passed a law toughening the punishment for statutory rape.
It’s possible that this was the reason for the primary reaction of the local authorities who tried to protect the crime suspects.
Mariano L. will be also interrogated as the suspect in rape
- All crime suspects have been identified, – say from the police department of Vitebro. – They are all the residents of Acquapendente, students of the ITCG Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa college. The age of all suspects is below 20 years old.
- These are Leonardo F., Marco P., Alessio R., Sebastiano B., Mariano L. – told Angelina. – I hope that all of them will be punished according to the law.
Medics confirmed that it was the rape
October 7, 2012 (source: http://lifenews.ru/news/103066)
Doctors from the Italian clinics concluded that the injuries on the body of the Russian student were the result of rape.
Angelina C. succeeded to get the confirmation that she was raped by 5 Italians
- We received the medical report, which established that the sexual act was committed against the girl’s will, – said to LifeNews from the police of Viterbo.
According to lawyers, this document will serve as the basic proof upon which the case will be built. The girl will have to go through a resonant trial, which according to Italian laws will start not earlier than in 3 months.
Angelina will be transferred from the host family in Acquapendente to Rome.
- This is done for the girl’s safety and to ensure her mental well-being. Acquapendente is a very small town. Its residents had immediately sided with their fellow citizens and blame for the incident the Russian schoolgirl, – added in the Russian consulate.
- The host family is very hostile to me, – says Angelina through tears. – They said that I brought shame on them, and warned me not to dare to tell anything to anyone. The police took my laptop. From morning till night a crowd of people is shouting under the window, calling me a Russian prostitute who set up the fine Italian guys. All local press is writing about it.
Police found girl’s blood in the car of Italians
October 8, 2012 (source: http://lifenews.ru/news/103113)
Police inspected the car, in which according to the victim, she was brutally raped and found the first piece of evidence proving her words.
Angelina C.
In the car salon they found a tissue with blood. Upon examination, the DNA sample from the tissue matched the DNA of the victim.
It’s known that all five members of this loud story had been summoned to the police station for the interrogation. But they categorically denied their guilt.
However, some experts believe that the investigators might have much more evidence. According to Angelina’s lawyer, Italian detectives are not eager to prove the guilt of the suspects.
- There is a clear police procedure for such cases, – told Life News Angelina’s lawyer, Anton Shalkov. – It is necessary to take the sample of subungual [ed: under the nail] tissue. Examination of this tissue gives answer to the question, whether the victim resisted during the intercourse or not. If she resisted, there will always be the skin samples of rapist/s. But in the case of Angelina, this procedure simply had not been made.
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I’ve always been shocked and appalled at how rape victims are treated, especially in the initial stages of their…’processing’. They always seem to be demonized for stepping up, and have to deal with so much shame, while going through all shorts of humiliating medical procedures…. When the dust settles, they come out on top. Its truly a shame that people treat rape victims the way they do, but its prevalent in every society….
In the situation where the Russian girl is raped abroad, I would expect a significant number of comments expressing the offended national feelings.
Therefore, it’s even more surprising that most Russian netizens blamed the girl.
***
Compare it to the reactions of Italians in one forum to which I submitted the link to this post:
sambared: “shame on me, and my country… we are not all the same. sorry.”
CICaesar: “I feel awfully sorry for the girl, and mad as hell to those criminals. They will have plenty of time to think about their actions in an overcrowded prison.”
In all countries taxi working 24/7, strange….
not true
Poor girl, that is incredibly tragic.
In Russia (an many other former Soviet states), sex isn’t such a taboo subject, and women are usually considerably easier to get into bed. Hence, many men feel that once a certain line is crossed, the woman is obligated to complete the deed. And so, they draw the rape line in a very different place than most westerners. This is a terrible tragedy for the women, because they are often forced into sex then convinced that they were the root cause of the rape.
Kill them
I will help do that. Show me their addresses
It seems Alessio Altascuola Rocchi http://www.facebook.com/alessio.rocchi.18
knows about these guys, i’ll find you, Alessio
we will do this together.
My blood is boiling!
Whatever mistakes she made, did she deserve to be raped by 5 criminals and humiliated in such way?
If the raping didn’t kill her, the reaction of people would.
People, if not support, show some sympathy please.
Bad things don’t always happen only to others.
It always seems that in cases like this the victim is always to blame. What is wrong with society? Regardless of how she was dressed, where she was, how she was acting, there is no excuse for what happened to her. If the 5 guys were more thug looking it might be believable but because they were “pretty boys” they are innocent? I say burn the 5 on a stake!
Look at case of Oksana Makar.All discuss her behaviour,her family,but not that she was killed terrible.I can tell more there is case where 40 years old man raped 13 years girl.And u know people blamed her too.So it is strange behaviour for woman here
For those who don’t know – Oksana Makar was a girl from Ukraine who was gang-raped, dumped in a ditch and set on fire.
And – as Ann wrote – still there were people who questioned her behavior and the background of her family!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2122091/Oksana-Makar-dead-Ukranian-teen-posted-video-describing-gang-rape-dies-injuries.html
Im Russian and I want to explain why our citizens say that it is her fault. Because in Russia man creature from the heaven, woman from the hell. Go to club late night-be ready to be raped, short skirt-bitch, be ready to be raped, bright make up-raped!!! If such accident would be in Russia, our local police would tell her”You are guilty, you provoke, why you were not at home?Only bad girls go to clubs! go home and remember such lesson! Club and fun not for girls-sit at home and cook” And Italian jujes know about it and they juje her in the best russian traditions”you provoke, you should be at home” even if she should be at home, even she was stupid to sit in that car, but she doesnt deserve it! If our men think that all girls that go to night club are prostitutes, what we are waiting from Italians…
If you say that “man was creature from heaven”, why they act like animals (/beast) and sometimes even worse?
everything you say is just nonsense (maybe – youth), meaning that you probably do not understand Even.
Nobody has the right to use violence against the person, regardless of location and time of day. No one.
“you provoke” –
Why did you succumb to provocation? You’re not able to control yours emotions and desires?
A prostitute, it is the girls who are willing (/agree) to have sex, usually for money – it’s a profession. Willing (/agree), you know?
If some of the “animals” that you call “creature from the heaven”, can not cope with his lust, to charm a girl or just pay a prostitute (probably too stupid and unable to earn enough money for a good prostitute), who agreed to have sex with him, why a beautiful girl, before beauty of which, the “animal” loses the remnants of mind and commits a crime against the person, then why; a victim of aggression, suddenly becomes a “prostitute” from hell?
There is a saying: gold tested by fire, a woman – by gold, and a man – by woman. I thnk these five do not belong to the mens and even more so to those who “creature from the heaven”. Just to animals.
I am sorry that among some of my Russian Compatriots (online at least), there are those who blame the girl.
Alexey, our judges (now Italian too) think that man is creature from heaven if they say that she is guilty, she seduced them, and they are good, she is slut.(mouslim way of thinking) I DON’T THINK LIKE THIS!!! read my post again, if you didnt understand, and dont say that it is not true,nonsense you perfectly know that in Russia if woman raped she is guilty. And always people blame the victim. I dont know why. For men it is very comfortable. Pity that our russian netizens blame her instead of them
ok, then I do not understood what you mean. It seemed to me you justify such behavior.
“in Russia if woman raped she is guilty”
-, no it isn’t so. I dont know who tell somewhat. And the police do not say “You are guilty” .
But we talking here about Italy, where people call themselves “civilized Europeans,” and proud of their “legal system”, is not it?
Seems to me that this is a mere misunderstanding.
Both “Russian one” & alexey have the same point of view on this topic.
Just “Russian one” explained why so many Russian netizens in their comments blamed the girl. He quoted the usual accusations that people say to the victims of rape, but himself does not share such views.
As for Italian judges, “Russian one” thinks that in first place we should change our attitude towards the victims of rape before demanding it from others.
thank you, Augis.
as for the judges, they like the justice “eyes should be tied.”
And especially the comments of several dozen bloggers who accused girl, can not be a criterion of how the rest of the population belongs to such crimes against the person.
But I’m agree that there are those who either do not care about or blame the victims.
And rather blame those who themselves probably can go on the offense. In my opinion
Russian One: What are u trying to say actually? Russian way of thinking? Italian way of thinking? Mouslim way of thinking? Your way of thinking?
Ok. I really think u need to justify yourself before showing the stereotype side of yours?
Guys, ‘Russian one’ explains the way of thinking of people from post soviet republics. But he against violence and thinks that men and women in patriarchal republics like russia and kyrgyzstan and other have opinion that woman blame herself if someone rape her or beat her, almost everywhere in every family like this.(but we need to fight for justice and not be afraid to speak about it. I think its no matter how you look, or how you come home, how late or with guys or girls in italy or in moscow, nobody have rights to rape or brat or kill you or her or he just because … You can continue how you wish and also judge her that five guys raped her somewhere in forest because they idiots without hearts.
Этих итальянских уродов надо наказать!!!!
Если она и села в машину с 5 парнями, никто не имел права до нее дотронуться!!! Кастрировать скотов!!!
***
[translation (by Augis)]
These Italian assholes must be punished!!!!
Even if she sat in the car with 5 guys, nobody had the right to touch her!!! Castrate the scumbags!!!
I’m amazed with all comments and negativivity from people about this story. I watched yesterday “pust govoryat” Russian talk show and only one couple felt sorry for poor girl. I do not understand where all angry and judgement coming from. We all were young, we all went to disco, we all sat in cars…. In any case there no such situation which give the right to men physically and sexually abuse women! Angelina, if you are following this blog, justice would find it way sooner or later! I hope these bastards would get what they deserve!!!
Ina, my parents told me that twenty years ago somebody swearing in the presence of wemen was regarded as trash.
We weren’t always like that, were we?
Ina, are you Russian? Your name seems to be Russian…
And you’ve used three exclamation marks)
I’d like to explain something. I know Angelina well enough and have more information about the accident than articles.
People, who blame Angelina, aren’t really the majority. I’m one of the founders of the association of people who feel for Angelina. For the first time I was shocked by the comments of internet users as well as you are. But very soon we’ve found out that many of them are made by people like ex-AFS volunteers etc. ALL the comments of this kind, made on the site of our association were made by these people. If you look through the site of Angelina, you’ll see lots of comments of people, who say that they are proud of her, that she is a strong, brave girl etc. Honestly, I was crying!
Secondly, according to Angelina herself, Italian weren’t firstly so kind to her too. Policemen didn’t make many tests, that could help to prove for sure that she was raped (that the sex wasn’t consensual), they didn’t arrest rapers, to sat nothing about citizens of Aquapend. They were standing under her windows for hours and shouting, that she was “a Russian whore, who has seduced their good boys”. The fact that she was examined by doctors has nothing to do with police – she went to hospital BEFORE going to police station. Policemen didn’t even mentioned about it. Furthermore, she wasn’t let to talk to psychologist for a very long time, though he could diagnose psychological trauma. To sum up, they’ve tried to present everything so that she wasn’t raped at all.
Now, the situation seems to improve, somebody in our Parliament has payed for her studies, Italian police seems to work better, but newspaper with which we were cooperating said, that in gratitude our association shouldn’t organize actions like pickets in front of Italian’s embassy or AFS’s office. Alas.
Thanks for the update, Evgenia.
I hope that justice will prevail and wholeheartedly wish that Angelina gets over this traumatic event.
She’ll surely get over it, she is a really strong girl. I hope, that she won’t become embittered.
Unfortunately there are a lot of false rape accusations, and the trend is growing. Women brought this on themselves.
If you’re still interested, than it went to the worse. Only lawers of those five boys are allowed to work with the materials of the investigation (and, according to Angelina, they use it for manipulation with the facts and even changing in the way they need to), while the lawer of Angelina is not allowed even to read them. Moreover, the press has started the information attacks again. They try to present the matter in a different light, they name two girls “women” and those 25-years old guys “boys”, as if they young (I don’t know Italian, but there are many words in it for men and women of different ages).
I’m sorry for my English, if you don’t understand something in my message, please, ask me questions).
Thank you very much for feeling for Angelina
Thanks for the update, Evgenia.
I hope that Russian embassy in Italy can help Angelina.
Why politicians talk about the deaths of adopted Russian children in the USA and they are silent about Angelina’s case? That’s unfair! This makes me very angry.