Sexual assault outside Hollywood nightclub in Milan: 38-year-old PR man denies charges
A 38-year-old PR man, arrested on 24 August on suspicion of rape of a 19-year-old student, denies all violence. The incident dates to the night of 15–16 August in Milan.
PR man under house arrest following rape allegation: "She consented"
Elmanam Hassan, a 38-year-old PR man, defended himself before Milan judge Giulia Marozzi, denying charges of sexual assault against him. "I committed no violence, the girl was clear-headed and consenting," he stated. According to Google News IT — Crime (it), the man was arrested on 24 August on suspicion of having abused a 19-year-old student in the vicinity of the Hollywood nightclub on corso Como.
His lawyer, Pierpaolo Proverbio, reported that Hassan "answered all questions" and said he was "distressed by the situation that has arisen". The defence requested the withdrawal of the precautionary measure — currently house arrest — or alternatively its replacement with a less restrictive measure.
The alleged facts date to the night of 15–16 August. According to investigators' reconstruction, the 19-year-old was with a friend at the Hollywood nightclub when the PR man allegedly led her out of the private area, abusing her near the venue. The investigation is coordinated by prosecutor Silvia Peru with support from the carabinieri.
Hassan maintained that he had consensual relations with the young woman, asserting that she would have been capable of giving valid consent. The prosecution, however, contends that the man exploited the victim's "clear state of alteration", taking advantage of her "condition of weakness" to extract "vitiated consent" from her.
Milan judge Giulia D'Antoni, in the order by which she imposed house arrest at the request of the prosecutor for Yaser Hassan, wrote that the young woman presented a "manifest, undeniable, evident incapacity to give valid consent". According to the order, the man acted with "absence of shame and inhibitory restraints", whilst the 19-year-old was "unable to understand what was happening".
The two friends found each other only after the incident. The student was in tears and said: "He raped me". The girl also reported the presence of some young men who allegedly witnessed the scene, filming it with their phones, without offering assistance.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)