Messina – A sentence destined to cause discussion: Clemente Crisci, a footballer originally from San Felice a Cancello and currently a midfielder for Ragusa, was sentenced to six years in prison for sexual assault on a 14-year-old minor.
The facts date back to November 2020, in full lockdown, in Messina, where Crisci was playing at the time in the local team. Together with him, his teammate Carmine Cretella, now a player for Padova recently promoted to Serie B, received a lighter sentence: two years, with conditional suspension subject to the payment of 5.000 euros to the civil party.
The sentence was issued by the president of the first criminal section of the Court of Messina, Rita Sergi.
The investigation began after the victim 's parents filed a complaint , sparked by word of mouth from a friend of the 14-year-old. The girl confided in a psychologist, who then informed the family.
According to the reconstruction of the Messina Prosecutor's Office, Crisci allegedly had sexual intercourse with the minor, while Cretella was charged with groping her private parts, with the mitigating circumstance of not having consummated a complete sexual act.
The public prosecutor Anna Maria Arena had asked for more severe sentences: 9 years for Crisci and 6 for Cretella. In addition to the sentence, Crisci will have to pay an immediate provisional sum of 15.000 euros and compensate the damages, still to be quantified, to the civil party constituted by the girl's family.
The sentence on Crisci and Cretella is a very serious thing, but it seems strange to me that there are such different penalties for two similar cases. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but the process should be clearer.