Top News:Five Italian men drugged and gang-raped British mum in Naples

The court was told the Mothers drink had been spiked

Five men who drugged and gang-raped a British mother on the last night of her holiday have been jailed for a total of 36 years by an Italian court.    

The 50-year-old mother-of-one, who cannot be named for legal reasons reported to Police that her drink had been spiked on the last night of a holiday in the Italian seaside resort of Meta di Sorrento, south of Naples, and that a group of men who worked at the hotel had brutally raped her. 

Her 26-year-old daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she felt unwell after the pair were given drinks by the accused after eating in the hotel restaurant, and went to the toilet to throw up, but when she returned, her mother had vanished. She previously told the court: “My mum seemed distant and far away. She broke down in tears at the airport as we were leaving and told me everything that happened. The night of the attack we had dinner at the hotel restaurant and shared a bottle of wine. We were with another couple of holidaymakers, the staff at the restaurant were very polite. Then one of the barmen offered my mother and I drink in some shot glasses. One of them had a tattoo on his neck. They invited us to the bar for a drink after we finished our dinner.”

“I remember having a drink and then almost immediately feeling sick. I went to the toilet and threw up. I was there for a while and when I came back my mum had disappeared.” The mother was so shocked she did not tell police what happened until she returned home to Kent. The woman reported the attack, and DNA samples and drug tests were sent to Italian investigators. 

They revealed a high level of the sedative benzodiazepines but lawyers for the five defendants claim the victim was on tranquillisers following the death of her husband. But her daughter told the court: “My mum has never taken any medicine like that.” Police were led to the suspects using a photograph of the bartenders taken by the woman and the crown tattoo which she remembered seeing on one of their necks.

Gennearo Davide Gargiulo, was given nine years, Antonio Miner and Fabio De Virgilio, were both given eight years, while Francesco D’antonio and Rafaela Regio got seven and four years respectively. Lucilla Longone, the woman’s lawyer, told The Sun: “My client was waiting apprehensively at home for the verdict. When I told her the outcome she was delighted and thanked me for my help, hopefully this decision will now help her get on with her life.”

The victim and her 26-year-old daughter had travelled from Kent, southern England, to Sorrento in Italy in October 2016, in the wake of the recent death of the mother’s husband. Prosecutor Antonio Barba said: “There is evidence this group sex attack was carried out with the use of drugs.”

DNA from two men was reportedly found under the mother’s fingernails and matched two of the accused – Miniero and Ciro D’Antonio.The men were caught by police after sharing the disturbing video on the WhatsApp group, a court heard. Prosecutors say the victim was taken to a room close to the swimming pool where she was raped several times by the men before stumbling back to her room at the Hotel Alimuri. 

After the judge handed down the sentences, the rapists’ families hurled abuse at the judge and court staff, meaning a security detail had to be called.