They were planning a punitive raid against the 19-year-old girl they had gang-raped, because she had reported them. This is what emerges from the investigation into the rape that took place on 7 July in Palermo which led to the arrest of seven people, all between the ages of 18 and 22. The arrests took place in two tranches, a few days apart from each other. In the interval of time that separated the two operations by the carabinieri, four of the suspects still on the loose, after learning that three members of the pack had already been taken to prison, planned to take revenge on the victim who had reported the ferocious violence group. On 3 August, the military intercepted the words of Samuele La Grassa and Elio Arnao, both 20 years old: the investigating judge in the precautionary custody order speaks of a “punitive intention” towards the offended person.

A will that adds to the threats made to reach the girl so that she does not reveal what happened. The two discuss the risk that the 22-year-old Angelo Flores, who ended up in prison, had mentioned their names. Flores, in fact, is the boy who filmed the rape with his mobile phone. On WhatsApp, La Grassa writes: “I swear tonight I’ll go all the way down Via Libertà and carry the complaint in my purse … I tell him look what you did to me and then I headbutt him in the nose”.

The rape was documented by video surveillance cameras. Crude images that would nail the protagonists of the violence to their responsibilities: the girl is clearly seen, in the center of her, two of her supporting her and the other five around her as they set off towards an isolated area of the Foro Italico. The herd would have previously attempted to get the girl drunk who had been approached in the nightlife venues. At that point, according to the reconstruction of the investigators, the seven suspects led the victim to a secluded area of the city center and took turns abusing her

The victim’s stories were heartbreaking: “I had no idea where they were leading me – he told the carabinieri -. They replied: we know it”. During the journey, the girl tried to attract the attention of passers-by: “I asked for help, but no one understood what was happening”. Once they arrived in the isolated area of the Foro Italico, near a construction site, the gang rape took place. The 19-year-old described the violence she suffered, despite her refusal: “I shouted stop, stop, but they laughed. ‘You like it anyway’, they shouted at me”. After the violence, the victim was dressed and left on the street. In addition to La Grassa, Arnao and Flores, the other accused are Gabriele Di Trapani, 19, Cristian Barone, 18, Christian Maronia, 19. The seventh arrested at the time of the incident was still a minor.