A 23-year-old Indian asylum seeker who was arrested for sexually assaulting four 13-year-old girls at a water park near Brescia, Italy, has taken his own life in prison just days after his arrest.
The young man, who had been in Italy for three months and had no prior criminal record, was found dead by penitentiary police during a routine check at the Canton Mombello prison in Brescia. His death came roughly 48 hours after he was arrested for a series of sexual assaults against a group of minors who were at the pool with their families at the time.
The initial incident took place on Sunday evening at the Tibidabo water park in Concesio. According to investigators, lifeguards noticed the man around 6:00 p.m. behaving suspiciously in the slide area. He repeatedly approached a group of four 13-year-old girls who were in the water, momentarily out of their parents’ sight, and groped the girls. The girls themselves became alarmed and visibly agitated. The director of the facility had seen the entire incident and later confirmed the sexual assault to the police, according to Italy Today.
The Carabinieri were called immediately. Faced with the girls’ testimony, Italian police arrested the 23-year-old on charges of aggravated sexual assault and took him to Canton Mombello prison.
The girls were later interviewed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office during a protected hearing, in which they described to the magistrate what they had been forced to endure.
The man was held at the Canton Mombello prison, where he took his own life the following night. It remains unclear how he killed himself. The Brescia Public Prosecutor has opened an investigation and an autopsy is being conducted.
In Italy, foreigners commit 44 percent of all cases of rape while only representing 9 percent of the population.
