Five hotel staff held over gang rape of British tourist

Woman in her 50s was given date-rape drug then abused by up to 12 staff at resort, say police

FIVE Italian men were arrested yesterday for the alleged drugging and gang rape of a British woman on holiday in the southern resort of Sorrento.

The men were arrested in dawn raids for the alleged attack, which happened two years ago.

Italian police had been working since then to identify the men, all of whom are current or former workers and barmen in a hotel – named as the Mar Hotel Alimuri – in the coastal resort, popular with British tourists.

Perched on top of a cliff, the picturesque town commands views of the Bay of Naples and is a favoured base for exploring the Amalfi Coast and the island of Capri.

The woman, who is in her 50s, was allegedly given a benzodiazepine daterape drug in a drink she accepted from two barmen on the last night of her holiday in October 2016.

They allegedly took her to a nearby swimming pool area and raped her.

They then allegedly passed her on to a group of up to 10 other men, who raped her in a different room in the hotel.

“Once the first attack had finished, the woman was handed over to another hotel employee, who led her into a room used by staff members where an unknown number of men were waiting for her,” police said in a statement.

“There were around 10 of them, many of whom were naked, and they submitted her to sexual violence in turn.”

They took photographs of her on their mobile phones during the assault before leading the tourist back to her hotel room.

The five accused were named as Antonino Miniero, Davide Gennaro Gargiulo, Fabio De Virgilio, Raffaele Regio and Ciro Francesco D’antonio.

The British woman made a formal complaint of rape when she returned home to Kent.

She underwent a medical examination, in which it was found that her body was covered in bruises, and DNA samples were taken.

British police contacted their counterparts in Italy and an investigation was launched.

The samples of DNA were allegedly matched with the five men who have been arrested.

In addition, the two barmen were identified through a holiday snap the woman took of them after she accepted their offer of a drink.

She also helped identify one of her other attackers by a tattoo in the shape of a crown that he had on his neck.

Police discovered that the alleged rapists had created a social media chat group called Bad Habits in which they discussed the attack.

“It was only possible to identify some members of the group, all of whom were employees of the hotel,” the Italian police said.