The house arrest of the two footballers Mattia Lucarelli and Federico Apolloni has been revoked.
The 23-year-olds were arrested on January 20th on charges of sexual assault against a 22-year-old American student . The Court of Appeal decided to transform the precautionary measure into an obligation to remain at home : both will not be able to leave their homes between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM.
According to the investigations, conducted by the deputy prosecutor Letizia Mannella and the public prosecutor Alessia Menegazzo, on the night between March 26 and 27, the two met the 22-year-old outside the Gattopardo club. The girl agreed to be taken home.
The dynamics
Lucarelli and Apolloni, along with three other friends, allegedly took her to the house in Milan owned by the family of Mattia, son of former striker Cristiano. Once they arrived at the apartment in Porta Romana, they allegedly abused her. The three friends allegedly witnessed the violence, but did not intervene. For this reason, they were investigated.
The 22-year-old then reported the incident: investigators from the Flying Squad, led by Marco Calì , analyzed the footage captured by a security camera, interviewed several witnesses, and analyzed the suspects' devices. From these, several videos shot by the suspects themselves emerged.
The videos
From those images it would have emerged that the 22-year-old was in such an altered state that she was not aware of herself and that she refused any type of relationship.
According to the two players' defense attorney, Leonardo Cammarata , those images do not prove that the young woman was in a state incapable of expressing consent. Hence, the request to revoke her house arrest.
During the last hearing, the defense and prosecution clashed over the videos and the translation of the audio into English. The Prosecutor's Office had submitted a new expert report to the preliminary hearing, with a new translation, in which the girl is allegedly heard screaming: "Don't touch me," or "leave my breasts alone," and finally , "I have a boyfriend, guys . "
The boys reportedly told the investigating judge that theirs was a "joke ." They then mentioned another video that exonerated them. However, that video was deleted and has never been found.
