Padua was recently shaken by a judicial case that raised many questions about the safety and integrity of healthcare facilities. A fifty-year-old social health worker is at the center of an investigation for sexual assault on a minor and production of child pornography. The man, who worked in a hospital in the city, is accused of having abused a seventeen-year-old patient with mental problems and of having filmed sexual intercourse with his mobile phone.
The accusations against the social health worker are very serious. According to investigations conducted by the Padua police force, the man allegedly tricked the young patient, taking advantage of her vulnerability. The story dates back to 2022, when the girl, now nineteen, was hospitalized in the hospital. The victim’s mother discovered the anomalous relationship between her daughter and the operator through the messages the two exchanged. Suspicious, she decided to report the situation to the hospital psychologist, who then involved the competent authorities.
During the investigations, the operator’s cell phone was seized, revealing images and videos of sexual intercourse with the minor. These materials not only constitute clear evidence of the accusations, but they themselves represent a crime: the possession and production of child pornography. The girl’s family, represented by the lawyer Leonardo De Luca, became a civil party in the trial.
The social health worker, defended by the lawyer Massimo Pavan, denied all the accusations. In court in Venice, the lawyer presented a request to access the forms of restorative justice provided for by the Cartabia reform. However, judge Alberto Scaramuzza, considering the seriousness of the contested crimes, he refused this possibility, however granting the abbreviated procedure. The trial is set for Wednesday 3 July.
Despite the accusations, the social health worker continues to work in the same facility, although he has been transferred from department. The health management has decided not to take any action until a possible final sentence is reached. This choice has raised much criticism and concern among citizens and hospital patients.
