Italian court rules physical appearance is ‘irrelevant’ in rape cases after two men were cleared of sexual assault because they did not find the ‘Viking’ victim attractive

• Woman said she was raped by two men in 2015 after they spiked her drink 
• Men were acquitted after judges ruled victim was ‘too masculine’ to be attractive
• Decision prompted hundreds of people to protest and case to be reviewed 
• Italy’s highest court has now quashed the acquittal and ordered a retrial 

Italy’s highest court has ruled that a woman’s attractiveness is ‘irrelevant’ in rape cases after two men were acquitted of rape because their alleged victim was ‘too masculine’.

Judges at Rome’s supreme Court of Cassation said a victim’s appearance is ‘wholly irrelevant’ and a ‘non-decisive’ factor when it comes to assessing a crime.

The judges then ordered the two 22-year-old men back to the appeals court in Ancona to stand trial for a third time. 

Judges in Rome have ruled that physical appearance is ‘irrelevant’ in rape cases after two men were acquitted of attacking a woman because she was ‘too masculine’, sparking protests

The 22-year-old men were ordered back to court to stand trial again after judges quashed their earlier acquittal, which had provoked outrage from campaigners 

The pair were initially convicted at a trial in 2016, but were acquitted by three female judges after the case was taken to the court of appeals in Ancona the following year.

The woman had claimed one of the men raped her while the other stood guard, after they had spiked her drink with drugs.

Doctors said her injuries were consistent with rape, and found traces of a date rape drug in her blood.

But the judges ruled it was ‘not possible to exclude the possibility that it was the alleged victim who organised the “exuberant” evening,’ according to the reports. 

The men were initially convicted of the attack in 2016 before taking the case to the appeals court in Ancona (pictured) where they were cleared 

Demonstrators took to the streets to demand justice after the details of the case were uncovered earlier this year 

They said the man accused of rape ‘didn’t even like the girl, to the point of having stored her number in his phone under the nickname “Viking”, an allusion to an anything but feminine figure, rather a masculine one.

‘The photograph present in her file would appear to confirm this.’ 

Hundreds of protesters had gathered in demonstration against the decision outside the courthouse in Ancona in central Italy after the acquittal was first reported. 

‘For shame!’ shouted about 200 demonstrators, accusing the justice system of misogyny and a ‘witch hunt.’   

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