Antonio de Pascale And His ‘Lolita’ Make Waves In Italy
IN Italy a 34-year-old Italian man has had sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Antonio de Pascale, a butcher from Vicenza, had a four-month long relationship with the unnamed girl.
In court, de Pascale’s lawyers put forward the notion of a “deep tenderness” between their client and the girl, with whom he had “fallen head over heels in love”.
The lawyers say the girl had wilfully taken part in the affair. Lolita?
De Pascale could be sentenced to 12 years in jail. But the court in Vicenza hears the lawyers words, and they strike a chord. De Pascale is sentenced to just one year and four months in jail.
A sentence of less than three years means de Pascale is unlikely to serve any jail time.
Antonio Marziale, the president of the Association for the Protection of the Rights of Minors, says: “It is not right to judge whether or not a 13-year-old girl is willing. The law should safeguard young girls who are too immature to make these decisions against adults without scruples.”
Simonetta Matone, a judge in Rome, said the law must “always look to be reasonable in these cases… Every relationship is a relationship and the real maturity, whether physical or psychological, of the minor must be weighed, with the help of experts.”
De Pascale broke the law. But did he get away with it too lightly? Who is right?
Posted: 8th, February 2008 | In: Broadsheets Comments (9) | TrackBack | Permalink
