Man,60, has five year jail sentence annulled despite being found in bed with a child (Picture: Reuters)

A court has annulled a five-year jail term for a 60-year-old man who was caught in bed with an 11-year-old-girl on the grounds they have a ‘romantic relationship’.

The supreme court in the southern Italian town of Catanzaro ruled that it was a ‘real relationship’, according to local media reports.

The young girl is said to be from a disadvantaged background and was in the care of a man who works for the town’s social services department.

However, police raided the man’s seaside villa to find the pair naked in bed together.


The man was given a five-year sentence for sexual violence against a minor, as the age of consent is 14 and rises to 16 when one of the partners is in position of authority or care over the younger participant.



However, the child sex victim reportedly claimed to be in love with the elderly man and the court ruled the pair have a ‘romantic relationship’.

The case is being sent back to the Catanzaro court for a retrial and there are expected to be several levels of appeal before a sentence is confirmed.