'30-second case': former union representative convicted of sexual assault, victim had been exonerated twice
After two acquittals and intervention by the Court of Cassation, ex-union representative at Malpensa Raffaele Meola has been sentenced to one year and two months for sexual assault on a flight attendant.
'30-second case': former union representative convicted of sexual assault, victim had been exonerated twice
After more than eight years and two acquittals, justice has recognised the guilt of Raffaele Meola, a 48-year-old former union representative active at Malpensa airport. The second section of Milan's Court of Appeal, with president Enrico Manzi, sentenced him to one year and two months for sexual assault, also ordering provisional compensation of 10,000 euros to the injured party, a 49-year-old flight attendant.
The incident dates to March 2018, when the woman had contacted Meola about a work-related dispute. During a meeting in an office, according to the prosecution, the man engaged in harassing and violent conduct. Initially the Court of Busto Arsizio and subsequently the Court of Appeal had acquitted the union representative, arguing that the sudden physical contact had not prevented all resistance, since it had lasted for approximately half a minute, a length of time sufficient for her to move away.
In February 2025 the Court of Cassation quashed that sentence, specifying that the time taken by the injured party to react does not affect the existence of the crime. The judges of legitimacy explained that the shock caused by the assault could be such as to paralyse the will of the person subjected to it, making any defence impracticable. Magistrate Angelo Renna and lawyer Gionata Bonuccelli reported these principles in court.
The woman, forced to change careers and now employed as a support teacher, expressed relief: "I hope this chapter closes definitively, because over all these years my existence has been completely invaded by it. I have borne enormous costs," she said, also alluding to the additional trauma of not being heard for years. The decision has not yet become final: the defence may lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court once the reasoned judgment is filed, within three months.
Source: ANSA
Source: ANSA Cronaca