Democratic Party (PD) MP Donatella
Ferranti said Thursday she has filed a bill in the Lower House
making sexual abuse of children aged 10-14 years an indictable
offense.
Currently the law says child sexual abuse is only
indictable if the victim is under 10 years old - in which case
the offender is prosecuted for aggravated rape - or aged between
14 and 18, in which case the offender is prosecuted for underage
prostitution.
If the victim is 10-14, someone has to make a complaint
before prosecutors can take action.
"The bill is meant to correct an error in the penal code
which has been brought to light by some very serious cases in
the news recently," said Ferranti, who chairs the Lower House
justice committee.
The current legal vacuum leads to "aberrant situations in
which, in spite of flagrant offenses and overwhelming evidence,
the guilty can't be prosecuted because the parents are afraid to
report the abuse, or because the parents are absent - just think
of all the minors reaching Italy on their own," Ferranti said.
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