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CRIME

Teacher forced child to wash mouth with soap

A former teacher at a private infant school in Ravenna has been sentenced to a year in prison after forcing a child to wash their mouth out with soap to "clean blasphemies".

Published: 24 March 2015 14:33 CET
Teacher forced child to wash mouth with soap
The boy was five years old when the abuse happened. School photo: Shutterstock

The 55-year-old, convicted of aggravated child abuse, also locked the boy, who was five years old at the time, in a cupboard and “pulled his hair and ears”, La Repubblica reported.

The abuse only came to light in 2011, when the child moved on to primary school and asked teachers there what punishment he would get for misbehaving or not doing his homework.

He then told them about the type of punishment he received while at infant school.

The ex-teacher was also told to pay the child €12,000 in compensation, and a further €4,000 to each of his parents.

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CRIME

‘Blind’ Italian scammer arrested after driving

An Italian man who received government support for years due to blindness was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of fraud after being seen driving, window shopping and riding a bike, news reports said.

Published: 16 December 2021 18:14 CET
A Sicilian man has been arrested for faking blindness after he was filmed driving and window shopping
A Sicilian man has been arrested for faking blindness after he was filmed driving and window shopping. MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO / AFP

The man in Palermo, Sicily, received at least 170,000 euros ($191,000) in welfare since 2008 after attesting that he was “totally blind” as a result of a congenital problem, local media reported.

Italy’s financial police were alerted after the man renewed his driver’s license in 2018 despite his earlier declaration, media said.

READ ALSO: ‘Blind’ man filmed giving directions and shopping

During stake-outs, authorities witnessed the man driving – while dialling on his phone at the same time – looking at shop windows while walking through a busy mall and teaching his daughter to ride a bike.

The 40-year-old was also seen riding a scooter without insurance, Palermo Today reported, adding that the man was nicknamed “Berlusconi,” after Italy’s former prime minister with a history of legal problems.

The man was already known to authorities, having received a jail sentence of nearly 15 years in the first instance last year for being part of a group that staged fake traffic accidents to receive insurance payouts.

READ ALSO: Italian police bust bone-breaking insurance fraud gangs

The investigating judge in this latest case ordered the man’s arrest on charges of aggravated fraud to obtain public funds.

The military seized three motor vehicles, three motorbikes, a garage, and the latest generation electric bicycle which the accused had been filmed riding, reports the news daily Il Corriere della Sera.

The case is under appeal.

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