'Sexual violence can happen in 20 seconds' - prosecutor

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 8 - The head prosecutor of Milan's appeals court has appealed a sentence clearing a former trade unionist of sexual assault on the grounds that his alleged victim took too long to react, saying that sexual violence can only be determined based on whether the encounter is consensual, judicial sources said Friday.
    In the appeal to Italy's supreme Cassation Court, prosecutor general Angelo Renna wrote that the existence of sexual violence can't be established by a court based on the "timing of reaction" of a presumed victim, implying that "a sexual encounter that lasts for a period of time of 20 or maximum 30 seconds" can't be non-consensual.
    "The willingness of the victim is far from irrelevant", wrote Renna.
    On June 24, an appeals court in Milan upheld a first-instance verdict, ruling that the trade unionist's alleged victim, a hostess, took too long - 20 seconds - to react to his alleged assault at Milan's Malpensa airport in 2018.
    The appeals court cleared the defendant saying the timeframe of the alleged violence, "20-30 seconds" would have "enabled her to flee".
    However the sentence, wrote Renna, goes against the most recent rulings on consent by "implicitly considering as totally irrelevant the victim's dissent and its acknowledgement by the defendant".
    The court, moreover, did not give relevance to the woman's testimony, said Renna.
    The sentence was blasted by women's rights group Associazione Differenza Donna with attorney Maria Teresa Manente slamming it as a step "back 30 years".
    Manente has also announced she will appeal to the Cassation Court on behalf of the alleged victim. (ANSA).