Italian Supreme Court declares it is not illegal to masturbate in public

A law passed in 2015 by the Italian Parliament decriminalising lurking in places frequented by girls to be seen masturbating removed the criminal aspect of masturbating in public places. Using this as basis, La Corte di Casssazione, the highest court in Italy, says it was not illegal for a 69-year-old man to masturbate in front of the University of Catania.

Supreme Court justice cited the recent government reform as basis in reversing the three-month prison term sentence on Pietro L. who took out his penis and practiced autoeroticism in front of university students, reports Metro. The original sentenced fined him €3,420 (A$5,037), but the court said Pietro must pay a higher fine between €5,000 and €30,000 (A$7,365 and A$44,188) which a local Catania court must determine.

Pietro insists he only masturbates publicly occasionally and did it around dusk when visibility was reduced which would make it hard for female university students to see him engage in autoeroticism, reports Daily Mail.

The amended law provides for a prison term of up to four and a half years if the act is witnessed by a minor, reports CNN.

Some Italian politicians criticised the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for amending the law which they say sympathises with perverts. Forza Italia Party MP Elvira Savino says, “The Renzi government has never given equal opportunities much notice, but to save from the prison cells people who commit obscene acts in front of women is really unjustifiable … The government's law is an invitation to every maniac to molest women,” quotes The Telegraph.

In other countries, such as the UK, a similar offence carries a 14-day prison term based on the country’s Town Police Clauses Act 1847 which declares the willful and indecent exposure of the genital in a public place as an offence.

VIDEO: Italy decriminalizes public masturbation

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