A shocking case of gang rape of an 18-year-old in Rome has emerged, where the unfortunate girl and her 24-year-old boyfriend were attacked in Tor Tre Teste park. According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, in the same park last summer, a woman also fell victim to rape while walking her dog. According to the same reports, the 18-year-old allegedly said: “No, don’t take my phone” in a desperate attempt to protect her smartphone. The young woman’s nightmare, a story kept secret for several days, was revealed today (25/11) in the Italian press: A couple fell victim to robbery and the girl was gang-raped. Three Moroccan citizens were arrested in recent days for the case, but the investigation has not yet been completed with authorities speculating that the group of attackers may have consisted of five people.
According to Rome police, the 24-year-old man was immobilized and forced to watch as migrants who attacked their car raped his fiancée. The couple had parked in a quiet corner of Tor Tre Teste park, in the eastern part of the capital, just minutes before being surrounded by the group that attacked their vehicle.
Police reported that the perpetrators broke the window and first pulled the 24-year-old man from the car before forcing the woman to get out as she tried to cover herself with clothing. As she was being sexually assaulted, her boyfriend shouted for help, begged them to stop and even threatened them with revenge, but could not break free.
Three Moroccans arrested
Once they completed the attack, all three perpetrators fled. The couple then called police and filed a complaint. Police have since arrested three Moroccan men on charges of gang rape and robbery, though they suspect there were five perpetrators in total.
Everything happened on the night of October 25th on Via del Pergolato, an isolated area near the old sports field, which the couple chose for their first meeting. The young people had met online and were alone in their car when suddenly the peace was broken by hundreds of glass fragments. Their car window had been smashed and three men, all around twenty years old, began their criminal activity with a robbery
A few days after the October 25th attack, two of them were located by authorities and arrested, while a third was arrested in Venice a few days ago. According to investigators, fingerprints found on the broken window match those of the men who have been arrested.
“The investigation is not complete”
Officers also stated that the attack began as a robbery, as the couple’s belongings were stolen during the assault. Police continue to investigate whether other men are involved, while a detective stated that “the investigation is not complete.”
In November of last year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni linked migrants, particularly illegal ones, to the increase in sexual violence in the country. In February 2024, a 13-year-old girl was raped by a group of Egyptian migrants in Catania, after they dragged her into a public toilet. She claimed that two people, both minors, sexually abused her while the rest of the gang immobilized her.
In another case, in October 2024, an asylum seeker allegedly impregnated a 10-year-old girl after raping her. The 28-year-old migrant from Bangladesh is said to have attacked the girl at a migrant center in Lombardy.
Last week, politicians in Italy expanded the definition of sexual violence to include non-consensual acts. This removes the burden on victims to show physical signs of abuse. Supporters welcomed the amendment, saying it will make it easier for people to report such crimes.
