(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 8 - The head prosecutor of Milan's appeals court has appealed a sentence clearing a former trade unionist of sexual assault on the grounds that his alleged victim took too long to react, saying that sexual violence can only be determined based on whether the encounter is consensual, judicial sources said Friday.
    In the appeal to Italy's supreme Cassation Court, prosecutor general Angelo Renna wrote that the existence of sexual violence can't be established by a court based on the "timing of reaction" of a presumed victim, implying that "a sexual encounter that lasts for a period of time of 20 or maximum 30 seconds" can't be non-consensual.
    "The willingness of the victim is far from irrelevant", wrote Renna.
    On June 24, an appeals court in Milan upheld a first-instance verdict, ruling that the trade unionist's alleged victim, a hostess, took too long - 20 seconds - to react to his alleged assault at Milan's Malpensa airport in 2018.
    The appeals court cleared the defendant saying the timeframe of the alleged violence, "20-30 seconds" would have "enabled her to flee". (ANSA).