«I was with three friends, we wanted to take a tour inside the abandoned factory near Bella Rosin. A few meters from the building we saw two boys in camouflage, they asked us if we wanted to enter. We said yes and they allowed us to climb over the wall. On the way out one of them told me he was a policeman and that if we wanted to return he would accompany us, I gave him my telephone number.” Thus begins the story of a r14 year old boy remained trapped in the spiral of violence designed by IR, the 20-year-old on trial for sexual assault and extortion for having created an alleged organization by recruiting teenagers who then ended up at his mercy. Yesterday the pm Livia Locciat the end of his indictment, asked for a sentenced to 7 years and 4 months in prison.
And the May 2023 when the 14 years old he encounters his tormentor for the first time. Together with him, three other teenagers end up trapped. And now their memories, clear and painful, are the basis of the accusations made against the 20-year-old. «He said he was a soldier, that he worked for the FBI and that he was enlisting us – explains the boy -. Every day we met at the factory for theshooting practice with rifle and ceramic bullets. He had a pellet gun. The training lasted a couple of months and I became sniper. Every week we had to give him 20 euros to buy the targets. We guys had the rank of Tir1, while IR was Tir2.”
According to the charges, the defendant demanded money even when the rules were broken: delays, absences and episodes of insubordination. «We had two days to pay, otherwise the fines would double. I used my weekly allowance, a friend of mine had to steal money from parents». And when the money wasn’t enough, IR – we read in the investigation documents – imposed sexual performances by couples and groups. «He said it was a test of trust – reveals a 13-year-old – and an alternative to paying debts. Every day me and the other kids went to his house and he forced us to have sexual intercourse, because in this way we will have become Tir2. Otherwise, with the rank we had, the FBI could have killed us. We were ashamed of what was happening, but we couldn’t oppose it.” If any of the recruits disagreed and showed discomfort, the false leader showed his pistol and rifle. «Sometimes to force us to have sexual intercourse he shot ceramic bullets at us with his rifle. She hit us on the legs, it hurt.”
Tiring and shameful narratives, which are now transcribed in the indictments. The context, for the investigators, is clear: the boys are convinced that IR is from the FBI: he wears the uniform, shows them the badges, trains them, imposes duty shifts, has weapons and two-way radios, forces them to sign a regulation, which dictates precise rules of behavior. He exerts a «sleeve control», the judge will write in the precautionary measure order. The chats between the accused and the victims show the intimidating tones of a man with a dominant character, capable of annihilating the will of the “recruits” with fear. «Not being able to work at night – reveals another boy – I had to pay in kind. I was afraid he would kill methat the management (of the FBI, ed.) wanted to kill me. I just want to be with my friends, return to normality. She even made me argue with my best friends, he said that she killed them.”
A 17-year-old, a former schoolmate of the accused, puts an end to that nightmare summer. He too falls into the trap at first, thinking he is dealing with a real member of the police force. For a couple of weeks, every evening, they patrol the streets of Turin and intervene to break up fights or provide assistance in road accidents. «He was strange, he called 112. But when help arrived we had to run away – he explains -. During the service, he was contacted by radio from an operations room which showed him where to intervene. When we went out in the car he used a blue light, but he turned it off when we came across the police.” And it is by working with him that the boy gets to know the other teenagers in training. The 17 year old gains their trust, they confess the abuse to him and he turns to the police.
Assisted bylawyer Elisabetta Corbelletti, the accused chose the shortened procedure and asked to be able to access restorative justice to have the opportunity to apologize to his victims. A hypothesis rejected by the boys’ families, assisted – among others – by the lawyer Edoardo Carmagnola: the civil parties requested that the accused be ordered to compensate the victims.
