Court Frees Rapists, Says Victim Too Ugly

An inquiry has been launched into an appeal court ruling that overturned a rape verdict on the grounds the victim was too ugly to be raped. 

Two Peruvian men convicted in the 2015 assault successfully argued the woman was too “masculine” to be a victim, the Justice Ministry said.

The ruling has sparked a wave of protests in Italy including a flash mob on Monday outside a court in Ancona, the Adriatic coastal city where the rape is alleged to have happened.  

While the ruling by an all-female panel was made in 2017 it has only just come to light after Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation scrapped the judgement and ordered a retrial.

Italian women’s right group, Rebel Network, which organised the protests, tweeted: “Rape does not fulfil a desire for pleasure, but an abominable hatred and contempt for the victim.

“It does not depend on how feminine you are, but on the hatred inside the rapist.”