Torre Annunziata – First, a restraining order and then house arrest weren't enough to stop him. Now, in the trial where he's charged with mistreatment, assault, and stalking, a 30-year-old from Sorrento, the son of a well-known restaurateur, is attempting a final, controversial defense: showing the judge intimate videos of his ex-partner to prove their alleged unreliability.
The defense strategy and the reaction of the civil party
Last Friday's hearing before the single judge of the Torre Annunziata Court has turned into a legal and ethical battleground. The 30-year-old's lawyers have filed screenshots and still images, extracted by a technical consultant from the defendant's smartphone, which depict the young woman, a 37-year-old tattoo artist, in sexually explicit poses, engaging in acts of autoeroticism.
Images that the victim herself had deleted from her chats after the relationship ended, convinced she had freed herself from a painful chapter of her life.
A move that sparked a harsh reaction from the plaintiff's lawyer, Angelo Morreale. "A crude attempt to discredit my client," he thundered in court, apologizing for the term but not for the substance.
"Inside this courtroom, there aren't just mechanisms, but human beings. I myself, who have nothing to do with it, was forced to see those frames. If the aim was to prove the existence of a sexual relationship, messaging would have been enough. Here, there's a clear intent to smear the victim, subjecting her to an unacceptable form of secondary victimization."
The accusations: a toxic relationship between jealousy and violence
The trial, stemming from an investigation by prosecutor Giuliana Moccia, paints a picture of a toxic and abusive relationship that lasted from 2023 to July 2024. According to the prosecution, the woman repeatedly attempted to end the relationship, tired of his infidelity. This decision allegedly triggered a reaction from her partner.
According to the reconstruction, the man didn't just threaten to kill her ("our relationship will end with the death of one of us") or leave her jobless ("I'll break your hands so you can't get tattoos anymore"). The charges allege slaps and blows with a slipper that left her with a black eye, that she was locked in the house while she tried to leave with her suitcases, and, after the breakup, that she was followed and that a GPS tracker was installed in her car to monitor her every move.
The last alleged incident, in January 2025, allegedly occurred when the man, now under house arrest for violating previous measures, grabbed her by the fanny pack, pulled her, and forced her to the floor, causing her to hit her head against the wall.
Judge's decision: images admitted but with a warning
Faced with a clash between the defenses, the final decision rested with the single judge, the only one in the courtroom who had never viewed the videos. In a decision that strikes a delicate balance between the right to evidence and the protection of the individual, the judge deemed the videos "relevant" and ordered their inclusion in the case file, noting any "procedural prohibition." However, he urged extreme caution, specifying that these are "documents" useful only for further investigation of the couple's dynamics, given the nature of the case. It will be up to the magistrate who writes the ruling, he concluded, to assess their actual evidentiary value compared to the rest of the evidence collected. The next hearing is scheduled for March 4th and 5th.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's incredible how, in some cases, someone can stoop so low to try to defend themselves. The use of private videos, which the woman had deleted, seems unacceptable and unethical to me. Justice should protect victims instead of pillorying them.