Justice Ticino judges exonerated of pornography charges
The investigation into a criminal complaint filed by two judges at the cantonal criminal court in Ticino against the three other judges has yielded initial results. According to information from the Ticino public prosecutor's office, one of the judges can be exonerated from the accusation of pornography.
05.09.2024, 18:04
SDA
After examining the files, the extraordinary public prosecutor came to the conclusion that the legal requirements for the offense of pornography were not met, according to a press release from the public prosecutor's office. The investigation into this offense was therefore closed.
The investigation into the other offenses is still ongoing, the letter continued. These relate to alleged defamation.
While the accusation of defamation relates to all three accused judges, only one of them had also been accused of pornography.
According to media reports from Ticino, the judge in question is the president of the court, Mauro Ermani. He is alleged to have sexually harassed a secretary. Specifically, Ermani allegedly sent the woman a raunchy picture via WhatsApp.
Mauro Ermani's lawyer did not wish to comment on the allegations until the investigation had been completed when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Left-wing parties demand suspension
Just over two weeks ago, the Ticino government informed the public about the appointment of an extraordinary public prosecutor from the canton of Graubünden. He is to investigate the criminal complaint filed by two ordinary judges of the cantonal criminal court against the three other ordinary judges - including Ermani.
Parallel to the investigation, pressure on the president of the court increased. Left-wing parties in particular called for Ermani's suspension or resignation. Observers have also raised the question of whether the president of the court is still in a position to preside over trials against people accused of sexual offenses.
The issue is also likely to occupy the Ticino cantonal parliament in its next session on September 16.
