Emanuele Bucca, international fencing referee from Mazara del Vallo (Trapani), has been sentenced in the first instance by the collegiate court of Rimini to two years and four months in prison. The referee was on trial on charges of having molested a 16-year-old athlete on May 13, 2021, in Riccione during the Italian Cadet and Youth Fencing Championships.
According to the charges, the man allegedly took advantage of the athlete in the hotel room in Riccione where he was staying. The 16-year-old had rejected his sexual advances and later told her parents everything. Deputy prosecutor Luca Bertuzzi had requested a five-year prison sentence at the previous hearing, while the defendant's defense had sought an acquittal.
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