Outraged Italians grope themselves in disturbing videos in protest against a judge’s ruling that unwanted touching that lasts less than 10 seconds is not a criminal offense.
A controversial verdict ended in the acquittal of a person who admitted to petting a schoolgirl, but claimed that he was joking.
Each men and girls in Italy took to Instagram and TikTok to post clips of them watching the stone-faced camera, groping their breasts and chest together with a timer counting down from 10 seconds.
In others, they constantly caress for nine seconds, only to stop just before time runs out and mockingly tell their grocer to stop before it becomes an assault, or laugh that they didn’t realize it was only a joke.
Often tagged with #10secondi or “palpata breve” – Italian for “short groping” – the videos aim to point out how disturbingly long 10 seconds may be, especially during a sexual assault.
The videos are in response to a court ruling in the case of Antonio Avola, a 66-year-old janitor at a Roman highschool, who pleaded guilty to groping a 17-year-old student in the varsity stairwell.
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In April 2022, Avola sneaked up behind a lady as she was walking to class with a friend, then pulled down her pants and fondled her buttocks and underwear.
“Honey, you already know I used to be kidding,” Avola said when she reacted in shock, in line with BBC.
After the girl reported the incident to the police, Avola admitted he caught her, but insisted it was only a prank.
Although Roman prosecutors had sought nearly 4 years in prison and a sexual assault conviction, a judge this week dismissed the costs and ruled Avola not guilty.
The judge argued that the groping “does not constitute a criminal offense” because it did not last more than 10 seconds.
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Considered one of the primary to post the 10-second video was White Lotus actor Paolo Camilli, and shortly after, many outstanding Italian influencers followed suit.
In lots of posts, after the time has passed, people in the videos express contempt for the ruling and argue that nobody has the best to the touch anyone for any length of time.
The girl at the middle of the case is also outraged by the top of the case.
“The judges said he was joking? Well, for me it wasn’t a joke,” she told the Corriere della Sera newspaper, in line with the BBC.
“The janitor got here up from behind without saying anything. He put his hands in my pants and underwear.” she said. “He was touching my ass. Then he pulled me up – hurting my private parts. It’s not a joke to me. A not-so-old man ought to be ‘joking’ with an adolescent.”
“The handful of seconds was more than enough for the caretaker to make me feel his hands on me.”