Five Italian teens under investigation over alleged gang rape in Malta
Italian police launch probe after teen says she was assaulted while drunk on holiday
Five Italian teenagers have been accused of gang-raping a fellow holidaymaker in Malta last July during a summer holiday intended to celebrate the end of high school.
The young woman only reported the alleged assault once she was back home in Treviso, days after the group of students had also returned from Malta.
The group of friends from Brindisi, aged between 18 and 19, had travelled to the island after completing their final exams, according to various reports in the Italian media.
A sixth member of the group, still a minor, is also under investigation, although prosecutors say he did not take part in the alleged assault.
The case concerns a 19-year-old woman from Treviso who told investigators she was raped by the young men on the night of July 22. She had met them during an evening out on the island, where the group drank cocktails and bar-hopped before returning to the apartment the students had rented.
According to the woman's account, she was heavily intoxicated when she accompanied the boys back to their flat. There, she alleges, five of them took turns to assault her while the minor stood by without intervening.
Investigators say videos found on mobile phones seized from the suspects appear to show the young woman visibly drunk and being pinned down on a bed while sexual acts took place. Prosecutors argue the footage suggests she was in no condition to consent and that she was taken advantage of.
The following day, after returning to Italy, the teenager confided in her parents and filed a complaint. Italian law grants jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed abroad when both the alleged perpetrators and the victim are Italian citizens. The case was taken over by the Brindisi public prosecutor’s office.
Searches were carried out at the students' homes, where investigators looked for items of clothing said to belong to the young woman. Their smartphones were also seized to examine possible evidence of images or videos being shared via messaging apps such as Telegram.
The suspects have strongly denied any wrongdoing. Through their lawyers, they admitted that sexual relations took place but insist the encounters were entirely consensual. They also dispute the interpretation of the video evidence, arguing it does not prove the young woman's claims.
The investigation remains ongoing, with prosecutors seeking to reconstruct the events of that night using witness testimony, digital evidence, and forensic analysis. According to the Italian media, the central question will be whether the woman's level of intoxication rendered her incapable of giving consent and whether the videos corroborate her version of events.
While awaiting the outcome of the judicial process, the accused students have since enrolled at university. For now, they face the possibility of standing trial for aggravated gang rape – a charge that carries heavy penalties under Italian law.