Rome to heighten security after woman ‘bound and raped’ in park

Officials in Rome are calling for heightened security after a German woman was reportedly ‘bound and raped’ in a park overnight.

The tourist was allegedly robbed and bound before being raped in the Villa Borghese park just north of the Italian capital’s centre, CBS news reports.

In the same 24 hours, police in Catania said they arrested a man accused of raping a doctor to whom he had gone for medical help.

News of the overnight attacks comes following a spate of reported rapes around the country, prompting the capital’s mayor, Virginia Raggi, to call the past month “a black September for Italy”.

Ms Raggi called for increased police patrols and video surveillance in Rome.

The mayor, who belongs to the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, also called for “special laws” to be put in place, but did not elaborate further.

The attacks follow a case in Florence where two American students said they were sexually assaulted by two Carabinieri officers after the police offered them a ride home from a disco in their patrol car.

Both police officers involved have been suspended as an investigation into the allegations continues.

In August, a Polish tourist alleged she was gang raped and her partner was brutally beaten in an attack on a beach in Rimini, a popular tourist destination.

Nicola Zingaretti, the president of the wider Lazio region, said on Tuesday: “This further rape should not leave us speechless.”

“First of all, ensure justice,” he wrote on Twitter. “Together, we raise our voices against violence against women.”