** A 52-year-old man accused of sexually abusing his 9-year-old niece, his sister’s daughter, has taken his own life while awaiting trial in Udine. The next hearing—where arguments were scheduled before Judge Daniele Faleschini Barnaba on September 11—will now formalize the dismissal of proceedings due to the defendant’s death, reports local newspaper *Il Messaggero Veneto*.
According to the prosecution, the man allegedly assaulted the child during family gatherings on at least 30 occasions between 2009 and 2010. A decade later, after the victim reached adulthood, he abused her again. The young woman, represented by lawyer Riccardo Prisciano, later reported the crimes. During proceedings, another sister of the defendant testified for the defense and revealed she too had been abused by him at age 9.
“Bitterness lingers over these events,” Prisciano told *Il Messaggero Veneto*, “as we were denied the chance to establish judicial truth and secure justice for my client.”