CREMONA – A ‘trial’ period lasting 12 months and 120 hours at an association. If the process goes smoothly, the accused, an unsuspecting 23-year-old salesman resident in the Milan area, will see the crime of having lured and blackmailed an 11-year-old girl on Instagram, posing as a 14-year-old, extinguished. ‘Either you send me a photograph of yours… or I publish the other one. I publish. Now I’m publishing.”
And there is also the accusation of possession of child pornography. In the memory of his smartphone, investigators had found 15 files of unmistakable images of minors. The Court today said yes to the testing – with simultaneous suspension of the proceedings – of the accused who has already compensated the victim with 5 thousand euros (the mother of the minor, civil party with the lawyer Marco Soldi, had asked for 10 thousand as provisional). The clerk has in fact become aware of the seriousness of his conduct.
«He is in therapy, he is undergoing a psychological process»the defender had said in a previous hearing.
Hearing postponed to September 10, 2025, when the outcome of the test will be evaluated. Also in a parallel trial in Milan, the accused was admitted to probation.
The fact dates back to November 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the period in which there was a boom in crimes against minors.
The investigation arose from the complaint presented to the police station by the minor’s mother, on November 13th three years ago. The evening before her daughter, very frightened, knocked on her bedroom and confided in her. She told her that she had been hooked up on Instagram by a guy named Francis. The two exchanged phone numbers, made some video calls on WhatsApp and began chatting.
He flattered her: «Hi, I wanted to get to know you better, I like you very much, love, do you want to be my girlfriend? If you keep your promise I will come to Cremona for you”. Subsequently, the groomer asked the girl to send him a photo of her in panties and a sweatshirt. The eleven-year-old fell into the trap and sent him the shot, but with the precaution of not taking her face back. The groom then asked her for a photo of her in panties and bra, but her victim was surprised by her and refused. And he began to insist, trying to convince her that her request did not hide ulterior motives. She didn’t want to know. From flattery to threats and blackmail.
An escalation of vulgarity. “Either you send me the photo or I publish the other one on various social networks and adult sites.” The photos weren’t enough for him. The defendant also requested videos of the 11-year-old in panties and a bra. This time, she didn’t take the bait: “I don’t feel like it, I just met you.” But the more she refused, the more he blackmailed her: “Send me the video.” With her promise that “then I’ll stop”, otherwise “I’ll go and publish, I’ll publish, okay I’ll publish”.
On the morning of November 13th four years ago, the mother showed up at the police station with her daughter’s smartphone and while the superintendent filled a page of complaint (41 lines in total), her daughter’s cell phone was bombarded with messages. It was always him, that guy named Francesco. He asked her to respond urgently, threatening her that if she didn’t, she would “make the situation worse”. The photograph and screenshots were attached to the complaint.
