The trial for the alleged gang sexual violence against two young women, involving defendants Ciro Grillo and his three Genoese friends, Edoardo Capitta, Vittorio Lauria, and Francesco Corsiglia, resumed today in Tempio Pausania. The judicial panel, regularly composed of the three magistrates who have overseen the case, convened for the final phase.
Following the concluding statements from the defense lawyers, the panel, presided over by Judge Marco Contu with judges Marcella Pinna and Alessandro Cossu, retired to the deliberation room to decide a verdict, which is expected by late evening. All four defendants were absent from the courtroom and will not be present for the reading of the sentence. Also absent was the Italian-Norwegian student, who was 19 at the time and reported the alleged rape to the Carabinieri in Milan days after the contested events of the night of July 16-17, 2019, at a Grillo family villa in Porto Cervo.
This trial has lasted three and a half years. The prosecutor for Tempio Pausania, Gregorio Capasso, has requested a nine-year prison sentence for all defendants. In contrast, the defense lawyers have called for full acquittal, arguing the incident never happened. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, stated, “My client will not be here physically, because I strongly advised against it, but it is as if she were here. What do I expect from the sentence? I want to believe in justice; I want to believe that what my client said will be reflected in the verdict.”
The defense team reiterated their position. Lawyer Gennaro Velle, who with colleague Antonella Cuccureddu defends Francesco Corsiglia, said, “We have presented a great many elements to the panel to demonstrate our client’s innocence, and obviously, reasonable doubt applies where there is no certainty of innocence. Our request is for full acquittal because the fact does not exist; the relationship that occurred was consensual.” Lawyer Mariano Mameli, defending Edoardo Capitta, also reaffirmed the defendants’ innocence, questioning the credibility of the accuser’s account and emphasizing the severe impact of the lengthy trial on the young defendants.