Decision not to arrest masturbating man 'was right'

(ANSA) - Rome, August 2 - Two members of opposing political views serving on Italy's Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), the Italian judiciary's self-governing body, told ANSA they agreed with a Turin judge's decision to reject a request for the arrest of a Moroccan man caught masturbating near a young female passenger on a city bus.
    In judge Alessandra Cecchelli's decision, she cited that sexual abuse can't occur without physical contact with the victim and that the man's behavior could be classified as a "mere obscene act".
    The decision was disputed by the head of the Italian parliament's committee against femicide, Francesca Puglisi, who announced she would present a parliamentary question to Justice Minister Orlando.
    CSM councillor Pierantonio Zanettin said thatm while he felt the same "indignation" as Puglisi, the decision was "technically correct".
    Zanettin said it would be more appropriate to criticize the government's decriminalization of obscene acts.
    CSM member Paola Balducci also agreed that the judge "was right", adding that it would be different if the woman had been a minor under 14 years old.
    "In that case it would be considered corruption of minors, punishable by up to five years in prison; that would make it possible to issue a pre-trial custody order," she said.