Italy's Supreme Court sparked international outcry online recently when it overturned the conviction of a 60-year-old man who engaged in a sexual relationship with an 11-year-old girl because they were in love.
According to an AFP report, the initial rulings did not take into account the "amorous relationship" the unidentified 11-year-old shared with 60-year-old Pietro Lamberti, a social services worker from Catanzaro in southern Italy.
Lamberti was convicted in February 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison for having sex with the young girl and the verdict was later upheld by an appeals court.
But in a surprising turn of events, the Italian Supreme Court ordered a retrial because the verdict did not fully account for "the 'consensus,' the existence of an amorous relationship, the absence of physical force, the girl's feelings of love."
A Blitz Quotidiano report noted that Lamberti met with the girl at a summer cottage in Roccelletta di Borgia, Catanzaro. Wiretapped phone calls from an investigation highlighted the girl asking if he loved her. It also revealed their fear of being caught. Lamberti repeatedly asked the girl to keep their relationship a secret and to avoid calling him on the weekends when he was with his family. They were eventually caught having sex in a villa by the sea.
The report highlighted that the girl came from a poor family and they were compensated 40,000 euros.
Italy's Supreme Court Overturns Conviction of 60-Y-O Pedophile Because He and 11-Y-O Girl Were in Love
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