Rome: 14-year-old uses 'Signal for Help' to escape sexual assault attempt

A 14-year-old girl in Rome was saved from a sexual assault attempt after using the international ‘Signal for Help’ to alert passing police officers. The incident occurred near the Casilino district while the girl was a passenger in a vehicle traveling from Zagarolo to Rome.

Police intercepted the car after noticing the girl performing the silent hand gesture—folding the thumb into the palm and covering it with the fingers. The driver, a 47-year-old Romanian national and the mother’s partner, was arrested at a local telephone shop. The victim reported that the man, who appeared to be intoxicated, had made inappropriate advances and attempted physical aggression during the trip.

The girl’s mother subsequently filed a complaint, stating she had also been a victim of repeated mistreatment by the same man. The suspect has been transferred to the Regina Coeli prison following the validation of his arrest by a judge.