Supreme Court appeal in the Borgo Vittoria cashier case
On 25 September 2026 the defence of a 42-year-old cashier, under investigation for sexual assault against a minor and a 40-year-old woman in a minimarket in Borgo Vittoria, in Turin, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Cassation against the order with which the review tribunal had placed him in pre-trial detention. The appeal, filed on the last available day, was signed by lawyer Francesca D'Urzo [1].
The facts
The alleged episodes date back to 28 August 2026. According to the prosecution, the man touched a minor girl without her consent after she entered the shop to buy some drinks; footage from the security cameras, handed over to investigators by the suspect himself, is also said to have revealed an earlier instance of harassment against a 40-year-old woman, who does not appear to have filed a complaint [1]. Following a complaint from the young woman's family, the man had been detained and taken to the Lorusso e Cutugno prison, but a judge did not validate the arrest, ordering his release with a reporting obligation after three days; the case had sparked controversy over this initial decision. The Turin review tribunal subsequently ordered pre-trial detention, but since the measure was not immediately enforceable, it did not result in the suspect's return to prison [1].
The appeal to the Supreme Court
The defence argues that the review tribunal's order shows a "flaw in the reasoning" and "the omission of any assessment of a decisive element" [1]. A first point concerns housing: the review tribunal had found house arrest to be the most suitable measure but inapplicable due to the lack of adequate accommodation, while the defence maintains that the suspect has a home in Turin, albeit without a formal lease, on the basis of which he obtained his residence permit, and that the tribunal assessed the matter of his job stability inconsistently [1].
A second point concerns the possible mitigating circumstance of lesser severity of the offence: the defence contests the "failure to assess the severity of the offence in terms of the psychotraumatic aftereffects" suffered by the victim, calling the review tribunal's reasoning "speculative" and contradictory. The review tribunal had in fact noted that several parameters of the case point to a low level of severity, but had deemed it premature to recognise the mitigating circumstance while the investigation was still ongoing, also in light of the shock reported by the victim [1].
Next steps
The Supreme Court of Cassation has thirty days to rule on the appeal. If it upholds the appeal, it may directly impose a different precautionary measure or none at all, or refer the case back to the review tribunal; if it rejects the appeal, the suspect will have to be taken into custody [1].
Related articles: Borgo Vittoria Minimarket Case
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Sources
- TorinoToday — 26 September 2026