Today in Rape Culture

[Content Note: Rape culture; serial rape; child sex abuse; victim-blaming and other rape apologia; descriptions of assaults at link.]

Dino Maglio, a 35-year-old Italian man, will stand trial next month on rape charges. Since his 16-year-old victim reported the assault, a number of other women have come forward to report being assaulted by Maglio, and those cases are under investigation.

Maglio has admitted that he drugged his 16-year-old victim, though he insists that the sex was consensual. Which cannot possibly be the case, since she was incapacitated and a minor.

He is a police officer, currently on suspension, and he is a rapist and a liar.

[Maglio] used the host-a-traveller website Couchsurfing.com to lure young women to his home where he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted them, according to people familiar with the case and the alleged victims.

[He is] accused of raping an Australian woman, who was 16 at the time of the alleged attack and was travelling with her mother and sister. According to prosecutors, he has admitted to drugging her with a tranquilliser and having intercourse even though he knew she was a minor.

The case has led to a succession of further claims from women who say they were assaulted by Maglio after using the popular website to arrange to stay with him. Three more cases are being investigated by the chief prosecutor in the case, who has also received statements from six other women saying they were abused.

...The testimonies collected by IRPI reveal a chilling tale of a man who seemed like a fun, fast-living host, but apparently turned out to be something else altogether.

Some say the more time they spent with him, the more they felt worried about Maglio's behaviour, including his constant compliments and insistence that they drink with him while they were out together. However, they also felt there was safety in numbers, since none were travelling alone.

...In the case of the alleged rape of the Australian visitor, prosecutors say Maglio has admitted spiking a drink with a sedative and having intercourse. Asked why he had slipped a pill into a glass of Baileys liqueur, he told investigators: "I am stupid, there was no real reason." He said he believed the sex was consensual and that she "never said no."

...A police search of his home found that Maglio had a gun – he was charged with illegal possession – and copious amounts of pornography and child abuse images.

According to court papers, on the day they raided his home, Maglio was hosting two other Couchsurfing tourists, with one showing the same "sickness" as other alleged victims.

I hope the women and girls who survived Maglio's attacks have the support that they need and want, and access to the care they need to heal. My thoughts are with them, especially as they face the stress of investigations and a trial, which is sure to garner a lot of attention.

At the link, there is discussion regarding the safety of Couchsurfing.com—which Maglio used under a false name, and, under that false name, told lies about his profile in order to lure his victims. ("In the case of Maglio, an alleged victim said he told her that Couchsurfing had closed his profile because he had so many positive reviews, so he opened a new one.") The company's CEO, Jennifer Billock, is quoted as saying that "users' safety was a top priority and that it was constantly 'evolving our tools and processes to find and halt abusers of our system.'"

She added that members were encouraged to look for verified profiles with multiple positive references, that they ought to have a backup plan when travelling, and to trust their instincts if a situation "doesn't feel right."

No opinion on whether rapists shouldn't be exploiting their site to lure victims, apparently. It's just taken as read rapists will be there, and members are "encouraged" to avoid being raped.

This story encompasses so many issues inherent to the rape culture: That rapists are liars; that police are not universally heroes who can be trusted; the shitty language used to talk about rape ("having intercouse"); victim-blaming; treating rapists like a natural and immutable force; tasking women with rape prevention.

Over and over, we see these same details, the same reprehensible narratives. And still, nothing changes.

[H/T to Shaker aforalpha.]