British teenager, 19, suffers horrifying 'mass sexual assault' during 'nightmare' trip to Italy
20 January 2025, 14:24
A 19-year-old British woman was “groped” by an “organised” group of strangers in a horrifying mass sexual attack in Milan on New Year’s Eve.
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Imogen, who has only been identified by her first name, was celebrating the new year with two male friends from England and six Belgian students they had met while in the Italian city.
The group were in the Piazza del Duomo to watch the midnight firework display when the “dehumanising” incident occurred.
The university student said she was first “groped” by a man as she made her way through a crowd of people after she and a friend had separated from the main group to look for a toilet.
The teenager then recalled how as the countdown for midnight began, she was pulled away from her friends and “groped” by multiple men, who “enjoyed her distress”, while another attempted to pull up her dress.
She alleged another man tried to sexually assault her, and that she heard one of the men mention rape.
Imogen said there were no police in the square but when the group later found some officers, they were told it was “a known problem and (the) attackers were Bangladeshi men”.
In a harrowing testimony, reported in Belgian outlet Sudinfo and MailOnline, Imogen said: “Around two minutes from midnight, the girls began to share that they were also uncomfortable and had felt men beginning to touch them.
“However, by this point, there was no escape and we were forced to stand next to our male friends for safety and wait for the fireworks. This was our biggest mistake.
“As the boys became distracted and pulled out their phones to record the New Year countdown, I was instantly grabbed from behind and pulled away from my friends. This is when the attack began.
“They held my arms and hands, so I couldn’t fight back, whilst I was surrounded by a group in what appeared to be an organised attack. Multiple men, at once, began to grope me, whilst another attempted to pull up my dress.
“As I panicked, and fought for freedom, it became apparent that they enjoyed my distress and this only excited my attackers.
'”This is when my fight turned into one for survival,” she said.
Imogen said she was injured and left bleeding as she fought back against the men attacking her and said an “unknown liquid” was thrown over her, stinging her eyes and nose.
“Every man I passed, around 40, made some attempt to grope me, pull up my dress, separate me from my friends or fight me.”
Imogen said she was “saved only by adrenaline and the bravery of my friends” as they fled the crowd.
The men reportedly caught up with the group and started punching Imogen’s friend while she was grabbed, again, and separated from the group.
The teenager recalls hearing the screams of another English woman next to her, who she said was also being held and sexually assaulted by a group.
There were no police at the square, she said, and when they did eventually find officers they allegedly told her there was “nothing that they could do”.
“When I showed them the bloodied injuries I had on my arms and explained I and many other women had been sexually assaulted, their attitude changed”.
The police called in for backup and took a full statement before a female officer consoled her, explaining that this was “a known problem and our attackers were Bangladeshi men”.
But Imogen said the assault she and others experienced was not in the name of religion or political activism – and has hit out against people victim blaming her and others.
“I am so upset after reading many articles that claim it was a matter of religion, indirectly blaming Islam,” she said.
“The evil we experienced that night was the absolute absence of religion.
“Those men had no motive but to take advantage of innocent women, knowing they would escape without suffering the consequences.
"It was not in the name of religion, it was not in the name of political activism, it was an act of vocalised disrespect towards the Italian people and their principles.
"I dress modestly. I am tall, strong and did not encourage my attackers. Sexual assault is random.
"We are not to blame and I could never have expected our attack."
Imogen, who is now back in the United Kingdom, said she is struggling to regain her confidence and faith in humanity.
"I am broken-hearted to have to fight this battle at the very beginning of my adult life," she told Belgian media.
