Woman, 19, grabbed and assaulted by 30 men in nightmare New Year trip to Italy

‘Every antheral I passed, astir 40, made immoderate effort to grope me, propulsion up my dress, abstracted maine from my friends oregon combat me.’

Those are the harrowing words of a young British woman, who heard the screams of different pistillate being sexually assaulted portion she experienced the aforesaid fate.

Imogen was connected vacation successful Milan, Italy to observe the New Year erstwhile she was grabbed and sexually assaulted by a radical of men – who seemed to bask her struggling and pleading for help, she said.

The 19-year-old, who bravely agreed to beryllium named and pictured, was near bleeding aft being grabbed by an ‘organised’ radical of men who dragged her distant from her friends.

She had spent the evening with 2 antheral friends, besides from England, and a radical of six Belgians they met connected their travels, earlier heading to the Piazza del Duomo to ticker the fireworks.

Surrounded by 30 to 40 strangers Imogen said they grabbed her arms and hands truthful she couldn’t support herself.

‘Several men, astatine the aforesaid time, started to grope me, portion different tried to propulsion up my dress,’ she said. ‘I was struggling to get free, and they were enjoying my distress.’

She panicked arsenic she heard 1 antheral notation raping her, and different tried to sexually battle her with his hands – astatine which constituent she felt similar she had to ‘fight to survive’ the ‘dehumanising’ ordeal.

Now safely backmost successful the UK, Imogen told MailOnline she lone managed to flight erstwhile she started screaming, which got the attraction of her friends successful the crowd.

She hopes to dispersed consciousness of what happened that nighttime – arsenic good arsenic dispel myths astir the alleged perpetrators of the wide assaults, including that the attackers were holding Palestinian flags.

‘It is simply a total, blatant lie, to assertion that our radical were attacked by men holding Palestinian flags,’ Imogen said.

‘I deliberation it is disgusting that radical would usage our traumatic communicative to propulsion a governmental docket and I privation radical to recognize that galore of the descriptions I person work are wholly untrue. 

‘I volition not let my intersexual onslaught to go an accidental to disagreement radical – it is simply a infinitesimal to unite women, and the radical of Italy, successful outrage that this was allowed to hap during a joyful celebration.’

As Imogen and her radical of friends arrived astatine the Piazza del Duomo, she noticed determination was nary disposable constabulary presence.

She and a person near the remainder of the radical to find a toilet, and arsenic she moved done the assemblage she felt a antheral trying to grope her, pulling astatine her dress.

Having mislaid that antheral successful the crowd, she felt unsafe again making her mode backmost to her friends, with different girls successful the radical saying they had been touched by different men.

Imogen explained: ‘Around 2 minutes from midnight, the girls began to stock that they were besides uncomfortable and had felt men opening to interaction them.

‘However, by this point, determination was nary flight and we were forced to basal adjacent to our antheral friends for information and hold for the fireworks. This was our biggest mistake.

‘As the boys became distracted and pulled retired their phones to grounds the New Year countdown, I was instantly grabbed from down and pulled distant from my friends. This is erstwhile the onslaught began.

‘They held my arms and hands, truthful I couldn’t combat back, whilst I was surrounded by a radical successful what appeared to beryllium an organised attack. Multiple men, astatine once, began to grope me, whilst different attempted to propulsion up my dress. 

‘As I panicked, and fought for freedom, it became evident that they enjoyed my distress and this lone excited my attackers.’

Imogen fought backmost against the attackers, ending up with bleeding cuts and bruises arsenic she struggled. An ‘unknown liquid’ was thrown implicit her, causing her eyes and chemoreceptor to sting.

Hearing her person screaming adjacent to her, who was being grabbed and assaulted successful the aforesaid way, Imogen tried to intervene and her person managed to interruption free.

The radical past turned their ire towards Imogen, but the commotion caused the assemblage to disperse which gave her much country to escape.

After breaking escaped she and her friends ‘desperately’ searched for constabulary officers, which seemed to scare disconnected the attackers who were inactive pursuing them.

When they did yet find officers – arsenic determination weren’t immoderate successful the Piazza during the New Year celebration, she says – they allegedly told her determination was ‘nothing that they could do’.

‘When I showed them bloodied injuries I had connected my arms and explained I and galore different women had been sexually assaulted, their cognition changed,’ Imogen said.

Officers called for back-up and took a afloat connection from Imogen. She says a pistillate serviceman consoled her and said it was ‘a known occupation and our attackers were Bangladeshi men’.

But Imogen said the battle she and others experienced was not successful the sanction of religion oregon governmental activism – and has deed retired against radical unfortunate blaming her and others.

‘I americium truthful upset aft speechmaking galore articles that assertion it was a substance of religion, indirectly blaming Islam,’ she said.

‘The evil we experienced that nighttime was the implicit lack of religion.

‘Those men had nary motive but to instrumentality vantage of guiltless women, knowing they would flight without suffering the consequences. 

‘It was not successful the sanction of religion, it was not successful the sanction of governmental activism, it was an enactment of vocalised disrespect towards the Italian radical and their principles.

‘I formal modestly. I americium tall, beardown and did not promote my attackers. Sexual battle is random.

‘We are not to blasted and I could ne'er person expected our attack.

‘This is besides not a reflection of each Bangladeshi people, oregon radical non-native to Italy.

‘This was an organised radical of disgusting men, who merit to endure the consequences of their actions.’

Imogen is present backmost successful the UK and has returned to her studies astatine a assemblage successful the northbound of England.

She is filing a ineligible ailment via the Italian embassy successful England, and says investigators are speaking to different women to recognize the afloat ‘scale’ of the attack.

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