(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 12 - Two young men were detained on
Wednesday on suspicion of being involved in the sexual assault
of women in Milan's Piazza Duomo on New Year's Eve.
Nine women, including two German visitors, reported being
victims of the attacks by gangs of youths in three separate
incidents.
The case has echoes of one which occurred in Cologne in 2016.
On Tuesday police searched the homes of 18 people suspected of
involvement to find evidence and, at the moment, 12 are under
investigation.
The two suspects detained on Wednesday are a 21-year-old from
Turin and an 18-year-old from Milan.
Milan Prosecutor Riccardo Targetti said the two are accused of
"serious sexual violence" accompanied by "the robbery of cell
phones and handbags".
He said they had been detained because there was a danger of
them trying to escape given the seriousness of the evidence
against them.
Indeed, the pair were not present on Tuesday when their homes
were searched.
They were allegedly involved in two of the three attacks.
Investigators said they found clothes matching those worn by
assailants on New Year's Eve at the homes of the suspects.
(ANSA).
Two detained over Milan Duomo New Year sexual assaults
Nine women reported being victims of gangs of youths