Sexual assault in San Damaso: a 20-year-old Italian man of Moroccan origin arrested.

Modena State Police operation: the young man is charged with aggravated sexual assault, robbery, and assault. The forensic investigation and the victim's cooperation were crucial.

Modena – A twenty-year-old Italian of Moroccan origin was arrested and taken to prison, seriously suspected of the crimes of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery and personal injury, for events that occurred on last August 19th along the way “Experience Nature” of San Damaso, near the Panaro river floodplains.

The operation, coordinated by Public Prosecutor's Office of Modena and conducted by State Police, represents the conclusion of a rapid and detailed investigation, which allowed us to trace the perpetrator of the attack thanks to a thorough investigative work, cross-referencing witness statements, telephone data and scientific analyses.

The attack in the park

According to the investigators' reconstruction, the victim, a woman who was cycling along the nature trail, was pushed and dragged into an isolated area from the young attacker. The man, after having tied her hands and neck with a rope, forced to suffer sexual violence.
After the attack, he fled, taking the woman's bicycle—worth approximately €4.500—and abandoning the victim's cell phone and other personal belongings nearby.

The woman, despite the serious shock conditions, managed to ask for help by contacting the 118 and 112, and the police officers promptly intervened on site Flying Squadand Flying Squad and Scientific Police of Modena.

The investigations: telephone cells and fingerprints

The victim, transported to the emergency room, provided investigators with a detailed description of the attacker, which allowed us to draw up an identikit. At the same time, the Police analysed the telephone tables and cells activated in the area of ​​the attack, identifying a user compatible with the presence of the suspect.

Il September 30th The Prosecutor's Office ordered a search of the young man, which had a positive outcome: in the suspect's home, items were found the fork of the stolen bicycle and the clothing used during the attack.

Thanks to the information provided during the interrogation, it was also found - with the intervention of the Modena Fire Brigade - The bicycle frame inside a canal in Castelfranco Emilia. The victim then recognized the pieces of the vehicle without hesitation, confirming its origin.

The work of the Bologna Scientific Police, which successfully compared the fingerprints of the suspect found on the woman's cell phone and glasses.

The arrest

On the basis of the evidence collected, the Modena Public Prosecutor's Office has requested the Preliminary Investigations Judge (GIP) the issuing of a precautionary prison measure. The investigating judge, recognizing the seriousness of the evidence and the precautionary needs put forward, ordered the custody in prison, carried out immediately by the Flying Squad.
The young man was associated with the Modena Prison.

Mayor Mezzetti's words: "This is a heinous act. Our solidarity with the victim."

Following the arrest, the mayor of Modena Massimo Mezzetti He publicly expressed his thanks to the police and the judiciary for the speed and precision of the investigations:

I would like to thank the Modena Police investigators and the Judiciary for their thorough and thorough investigation, which led to the arrest of the man accused of the sexual assault that occurred in San Damaso. This was a very serious and heinous act that has caused alarm and concern.

The mayor then addressed a thought of closeness and solidarity to the attacked woman:

“His cooperation, even at such a painful time, was crucial to the investigation and to identifying the man who is now in prison by judicial order.”

A lightning investigation, the result of coordination and expertise

The case of San Damaso highlights once again the effectiveness of the synergy between Prosecutor's Office, State Police and Scientific Police, in an investigation that — within a few weeks — led to the identification, indictment and arrest of the alleged perpetrator of a particularly violent crime.
This result restores confidence in the institutions and underscores the importance of timely reporting and collaboration between citizens and law enforcement.