Portico di Caserta – The case involving the mayor of Portico di Caserta, Giuseppe Oliviero, and his fellow citizen, Carmine Romano, 52, who moved to Padua, has moved from social media to the courtroom.
The man was indicted on charges of aggravated defamation, following a comprehensive investigation coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
The Postal Police investigations
The investigation, led by Deputy Prosecutor Dr. Chiara Esposito, began after the publication of some highly offensive content on the Facebook group "Ciò che vedo a Portico di Caserta," a virtual community with over five thousand members.
Thanks to technical investigations conducted by the Caserta Postal Police, investigators traced the origin of two posts published in January of last year. According to the prosecution, Romano allegedly used photomontages to damage Oliviero's reputation, first associating the Mayor's face with an image of a cockroach and then placing it inside a plate of pasta accompanied by mocking expressions.
The indictment and the defense
The evidence gathered by the judicial police has convinced the Preliminary Investigations Judge to order the 52-year-old to stand trial. The first hearing has been scheduled for March 3rd before Dr. Francesco Maione, a magistrate of the First Criminal Section of the San Marino Court.
Mayor Giuseppe Oliviero will not stand idly by. His lawyers, Gaetano and Raffaele Crisileo, have already announced their intention to join the lawsuit as a civil party.
"We will seek not only a criminal conviction for the serious offenses committed," the lawyers said, "but also full compensation for the moral and material damages suffered by the mayor in the exercise of his duties."
A precedent for the use of social media
The case refocuses the spotlight on criminal liability arising from the improper use of social networks. The dissemination of derogatory photomontages within public groups constitutes an aggravating circumstance due to the advertising medium, equating the post to defamation in the press due to the potential audience it reaches.
It seems strange to me how things now get out of control, Facebook posts that should be kept private, then end up in court, and I'm not sure if it's the writer's fault or the medium's. Maybe they should teach parents and kids better before publishing.