Getty The little boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Somali migrant in Italy

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The 20-year-old asylum seeker was accused of molesting the eight-year-old child in the courtyard of the boy's home in Fiano Romano, a few kilometres from Rome, Italy. Police said the little boy told them he was playing with a friend at about 6pm when the man approached them and touched him inappropriately. The man ran off after the assault.

Both children then ran inside to see their mothers and told them what happened and the victim's mother went straight to the police station. Police sent out search parties across Fiano Romano and managed to find the Somali man later that evening based on the description the child provided. They arrested him and locked him up in a jail in Rieti where he was charged with aggravated sexual assault.

Google Maps The attack happened in Fiano Romano, near Rome

Police confirmed he was staying in a refugee centre waiting for authorities to evaluate his request for recognition for international protection. His immigration status is now under review by the prosecutor.

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Italy is struggling to cope with a dramatic increase in migrants prompted by the controversial EU-Turkey deal in which Syrians who have arrived in Greece since March are sent back to Turkey. Turkey in turn gets visa-free travel in Europe as well as cash, although the deal has hit many speed bumps as Turkey refuses to agree to change its counter-terror laws. The agreement has meant Italy is now the number one destination for migrants making the dangerous crossing over the Mediterranean.

Getty Most of the migrants coming to Italy now are from North Africa

Getty The Italian coastguard rescues hundreds of migrants making their way from Libya every week

At the beginning of November the United Nation's refugee arm (UNHCR) revealed Italy is set to overtake Greece this year as the European country to receive the most amount of migrants. Italy had received nearly 160,000 migrants by the end of October and only needed 10,000 more by the end of the year to pass Greece's refugee arrivals.

Migrants clash with police across Europe Wed, February 15, 2017 Migrants clash with each other in over crowded camps across Europe. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 107 Moroccan Police look at immigrants trying to jump the six-meter-high fence in Ceuta, Spanish enclave on the north of Africa, 09 December 2016.

By the beginning of November, Italy had already received more refugees than during all of 2015 when it took in 153,842. This is despite the overall number of arrivals declining across Europe, with 334,000 so far this year - a third of 2015's total number.