Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

An Italian barman is on trial in Switzerland accused of raping a British teen at a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps.

The 55-year-old Italian is accused of raping the 14-year-old girl in a luxury hotel in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Zermatt, in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

The barkeeper is accused of raping the minor in the basement of the unnamed hotel just a few days before Christmas 2018 where she was staying for a Christmas with her family.

According to local paper Walliser Bote, the girl who was not present in court for the hearing wrote a letter to be read out in court it read: “The morning after you ripped the clothes off my body and forced yourself into me with your violent actions, I woke up completely confused and did not know why my body hurt so much.”

The girl was advised not to appear in court in Visp, Switzerland, by a psychologist. The prosecutor is pushing for a four-year jail sentence for the father-of-two as well as a ten-year-ban from Switzerland.

His defence are pushing for him to be released.

The girl’s father says the proposed sentence is too short. He told the court: “48 months for my daughter’s rapist is too little, it has ruined her life as well as the life of our family.”

The alleged rape happened on the night of December 19th 2018. The girl went to the hotel bar around 9pm and ordered an alcoholic drink. The 55-year-old allegedly served her the drink without asking for ID. The girl was allegedly served further drinks throughout the evening and was not charged.

It is then alleged he kissed the girl on the cheek before a passionate kiss on lips.

The young girl had so many drinks she could hardly stand up, according to reports. The barman then offered to help her to her room. However, instead of taking her up to her room, he allegedly took her to the basement. This is when the alleged rape took place. According to the report, the girl had no chance of defending herself.

After the incident, the man then dressed the girl again and took her to her room that she was sharing with her brother.

The following day the family went to see the hotel owner about the case. The owner called the police. But there were no witnesses to the alleged rape.

In court, the man apologised to the girl but said the sex was consensual.

He admits he should have asked for her ID. He claims she told him she was 20 years old.

He said she was all made up and looked 20.

The public prosecutor sees it differently and called the man a “gigolo” and say he acted in his own interests, according to reports.

The case continues and the verdict is due in a few weeks.

Neither the suspect nor the alleged victim have been named due to local privacy laws.

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