3 African youths convicted of Rimini rapes (4)

(ANSA) - Rimini, February 8 - Three African youths were convicted Thursday of raping a Polish tourist on a Rimini beach after brutally beating her partner and then raping a Peruvian woman a little later on August 26 in the Romagna resort in a case that shocked the nation. The three minors - two Moroccan brothers aged 15 and 17, and a 16-year-old Nigerian - were sentenced to nine years and eight months in jail after being found guilty on all nine charges.
    The three were found to be the accomplices of a 20-year-old Congolese man deemed the ringleader of the gang, Guerlin Butungu.
    Butungu has already been found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in jail.
    The defence attorney of the Nigerian said "the sentence is too high".
    The lawyer representing the Polish couple attacked said "the sentence is severe but fair".
    The polish couple sent a letter to the court saying they had endured seemingly "endless fear" on the night of the attack.
    The young woman who was raped said she still had trouble sleeping and suffered panic attacks.
    Her boyfriend said "I'm scared of the dark, the beach, the sea, and people who speak a foreign language".