38-year-old PR arrested for rape in Milan denies assault: "It was consensual"
Elmanam Hassan, under house arrest for abuse of a 19-year-old at the Hollywood nightclub in Milan, defended himself before the preliminary investigation judge, claiming the victim's full consent.
PR on trial for rape at Hollywood nightclub: "She was lucid and consenting"
Elmanam Hassan, a 38-year-old PR under house arrest since 24 August on charges of sexual assault against a 19-year-old student, rejected every accusation before the preliminary investigation judge in Milan Giulia Marozzi. "I committed no assault, the girl was lucid and consenting," Hassan stated, according to reports from ANSA Cronaca.
The facts at issue date back to the night between 15 and 16 August, when the victim was at the Hollywood, a nightclub on Corso Como, in the heart of Milan's nightlife district, together with a friend. According to the prosecution, coordinated by prosecutor Silvia Peru with the support of the carabinieri, Hassan allegedly took advantage of the young woman's poor lucidity, compromised by a state of confusion and a weakening of her capacity for self-determination.
The two girls had already drunk earlier, but that evening Hassan had also offered them "shots". The friend moved away for a few minutes; upon her return, the 19-year-old was no longer there. She found her outside the venue in an obvious state of agitation and in tears: "He raped me — she said — there were also boys who filmed me".
The images from the surveillance cameras, cited in the preliminary investigation judge's order, would be elements supporting the reconstruction by the investigators. The defence, entrusted to lawyer Pierpaolo Proverbio, instead relies on the thesis of a consensual relationship and has already requested from the judge the revocation of house arrest or the application of a less restrictive precautionary measure.
Source: ANSA Cronaca