Sicily, July 13: An Italian judge courted controversy when he acquitted an elderly man of sexual charges after he ruled groping"did not last long enough" to be deemed a crime. There is widespread anger and indignation in Italy following the judge's ruling that cleared a school caretaker of his criminal charges. For the unversed, the incident is attributed to a 17-year-old girl at a Rome high school who was "touched" inappropriately by a 66-year-old man when she was walking up a staircase with a friend in April 2022.

According to BBC, the girl was walking up a staircase to attend a class when a school caretaker allegedly pulled her pants down, touched her buttocks and grabbed her underwear. The girl later filed a complaint with the police. The teenager recounted that the man responsible for the inappropriate act allegedly said to her, "Love, you know I was joking," when she turned around in a state of shock. The accused was later identified as Antonio Avola and was subsequently reported to the police. Italy: New Law Curtails Migrants' Rights.

"He groped my bottom. Then, he pulled me up - hurting my private parts. For me, this is not a joke. This is not how an old man should 'joke' with a teenager," the victim told Corriere della Sera newspaper. Meanwhile, BBC reported that the accused admitted groping the student but asserted that it was only a joke.

In a surprise turn of events, despite the prosecutors' request for a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Avola, the judge ultimately acquitted the caretaker of the sexual assault charges, ruling that groping did not amount to a crime "because it lasted less than 10 seconds". Ejaculation Not Necessary, Penetration Sufficient to Prove ‘Penetrative Sexual Assault’ Under POCSO Act: Andhra Pradesh High Court Uphold Conviction of Accused in Rape Case.

Soon after the judgement, the Italians started displaying their anger and dissatisfaction online. In the wake of the ruling, a concerning trend started gaining momentum on Instagram and TikTok in Italy, known as "palpata breve" or "brief groping," accompanied by the hashtag #10secondi.

Inspired by Paolo Camilli, an actor from the series "White Lotus," Italians began posting videos on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok,  staring into the camera in silence while touching their intimate parts for a precisely timed duration of 10 seconds.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 13, 2023 10:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).