Italian police officers are under investigation for the alleged rape of two US students in Florence, media said Friday. The women, aged 19 and 21, were in a nightclub Wednesday night when a fight broke out and the owner called the police. Six officers arrived, with four leaving shortly afterwards when calm was restored, the reports said.
The two who stayed on struck up a conversation with the Americans, who were visibly drunk, and offered them a lift home when they failed to find a taxi. The women claim they were attacked by the officers once they arrived home in the early hours of Thursday, with one raped in the courtyard and the other in the house.
The four are captured on video surveillance footage in the car. Neighbours heard no cries for help, the reports said. The women were examined by hospital doctors, who noted one was still drunk and both were highly distressed, according to La Repubblica daily. There were no external signs of sexual violence, it said. Each year, the Tuscan city hosts thousands of US students at some forty universities and countless language schools.