Italian Court's Controversial "Ten-Second Rule" Sparks Outrage in Sexual Assault Case

An Italian court has sparked outrage by clearing a school aide of sexually assaulting a student, ruling that his "quick grope" of the teen for 5 to 10 seconds lacked "libidinous or lusty intent." The court found the defense argument that it was a joke "convincing" and stated that the contact was too brief to establish criminal intent. The ruling has incited anger in Italy, leading to a social media campaign under hashtags like "#10secondi" and "#palpatebreve" to highlight the duration of the assault and question the court's decision.