In a harrowing incident in Rome, an Italian man was reportedly forced to witness as a group of assailants assaulted his 18-year-old fiancée after crashing into their car. Authorities in the Italian capital are investigating the crime.

The young couple had parked their vehicle in a secluded area of Tor Tre Teste, a park located in the eastern part of Rome, when they were suddenly ambushed. According to police reports, the couple was unclothed at the time, merely moments before the attackers surrounded their car.

Police have detailed that the perpetrators shattered the car window, pulling the 24-year-old man out first. The woman was forcibly removed shortly thereafter as she attempted to cover herself with a piece of clothing.

The male victim recounted to police that he was overpowered by two of the attackers and held back while his fiancée was dragged a short distance away.

During the assault, despite his desperate pleas for them to cease and his cries for help, the man was unable to break free from the attackers’ grip.

Following the traumatic event, the three assailants quickly fled the scene. The shaken couple, both native to Italy, subsequently contacted the police and formally reported the incident.

According to the authorities, the couple were terrified and confused. Cops also added that it was possible that there were up to five attackers involved. 

Officers have since arrested three Moroccan men on charges of gang rape and robbery. 

Two were traced by officers from Rome’s Flying Squad unit and detained only days after the October 25 attack, and a third was picked up in Venice a few days ago. 

Investigators said the arrests were kept quiet while they continued gathering evidence.  

Italian police patrolling the streets of Rome. Investigators are probing after a man was forced to watch as migrants raped his 18-year-old fiancee

Migrants crowd as they wait to be transferred in September 2023. It is not suggested that any of the people in this photograph were involved in the incident

Fingerprints lifted from the shattered window match the men who have been arrested, according to investigators.

Officers also said the attack began as a robbery, as the couple’s belongings were taken during the assault. 

Confirming that police are still looking into whether additional men were involved, a detective said that the ‘investigation isn’t closed’. 

In November last year, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni linked migrants, particularly undocumented ones, to the country’s increase in sexual violence and rape. 

In February 2024, a helpless 13-year-old girl was brutally raped for half an hour by a group of Egyptian migrants in Catania after she was dragged to a public bathroom. 

She claimed two, both minors, sexually assaulted her as the rest of the gang restrained her. 

In another case in October 2024, an asylum seeker was alleged to have impregnated a 10-year-old girl after he raped her. The 28-year-old migrant from Bangladesh is said to have attacked the girl at a migrant centre in Lombardy. 

Italy is not the only European country experiencing an uptick in sexual violence by migrants. Last month, police arrested five Syrian men after a teenage girl was gang-raped and threatened with a taser. 

In May this year, a pair of Algerian asylum seekers were jailed after they lured teenagers aged 14 and 15 into an abandoned building before plying them with ecstasy, holding them at gunpoint, and raping them. 

The younger girl suffered such severe injuries that she had bruises along her ribs.  

Meanwhile, last week, politicians in Italy moved to expand the definition of sexual violence to include non-consensual acts. It removes the responsibility of the victim to show physical signs of abuse. 

Advocates have hailed the amendment, saying it will make it easier for people to report such crimes. 

It comes after the outcome of several rape cases sparked outrage.