Italian High Court Says Sexual Abuse Less Serious if Victim is not a Virgin

Italy’s High Court ruled Friday that a man who sexually abuses a teenager is guilty of a less serious crime if the girl is not a virgin. The man had forced his 14-year old stepdaughter to have oral sex with him after she refused intercourse. The Appeals Court found that his three year and four month jail sentence was inappropriate because the stepdaughter had sex with men before.  It ruled that the trial judge should have considered that the victim’s  "personality, from a sexual point of view, is much more developed than what would be normally expected of a girl of her age". Source:  Swissinfo.org. For the complete story, please click here (last visited February 18, 2006, reo.)