Female job applicants at Italian drugs firm ‘were drugged, raped and held captive for weeks in “house of horrors” by interviewer who photographed them naked as trophies’
- Antonio di Fazio, 50, allegedly invited students to interview at his Milan office
- He tranquilised them, stripped them naked and raped them, police said
- Some victims were held at his house for up to two months, the court has heard
An Italian pharmaceutical manager drugged and raped young female job applicants and held them hostage for weeks in his ‘house of horrors’, a court has heard.
Antonio di Fazio, 50, is on trial in Milan after six women came forward with allegations of horrific sexual abuse which led to his arrest on Friday.
The drugs manager kept one girl locked up in his luxury apartment on Via Tamburini for two months, police said.
Antonio di Fazio (pictured) drugged and raped young female job applicants and held them hostage for weeks in his ‘house of horrors’, a court has heard
The students in their twenties and thirties responded to job adverts for an internship or apprenticeship at Fazio’s pharmaceutical firm Global Farma.
But instead of a formal interview, the applicants were drugged with tranquiliser which he slipped into their drinks.
He then stripped the young women naked, raped them and photographed their naked bodies, the court heard.
They were then held captive and there arms and legs were tied up by Fazio and his ‘network’ in a ‘house of horrors’, prosecutors claim.
One woman has claimed she was locked inside the Milan apartment for four weeks.
The young women said they had not reported the alleged abuse until now because they were ‘afraid’ after Fazio reportedly ‘threatened’ them, reports la Repubblica.
The pharmaceutical boss is on trial in Milan after six women came forward with allegations of horrific sexual abuse which led to his arrest on Friday
Investigations are underway into his potential accomplices.
Prosecutors claim Fazio would lure the young women into his ‘trap’ by offering fake internships and job offers at Global Farma, of which Fazio is the founder and CEO.
He would then allegedly have his accomplices help him select the women he wanted to abuse.
Police said they found more than 50 photos on his phone of other women, and more on other electronic devices, suggesting there are more victims. Analysis of the photographs also suggest that the alleged abuse dates back to several years ago.
He took the photos as ‘trophies’ of his victims, and also kept them on his tablet and computer, according to police.
Fazio’s ex-wife made allegations of abuse 10 years ago and prosecutors believe he may have carried out his attacks for years.
The former couple, who have been separated since 2012, are currently going through a custody battle over their children.
Prosecutors are now investigating the alleged abuse of his ex-wife and claim that Fazio had already started his ‘scheme’ of abuse involving drugs and violence, against his former partner.
The manager was first arrested for allegedly raping and photographing a 21-year-old student who had met him to be interviewed for a training internship which turned out to be fake.
Fazio lured the woman to his apartment in Milan and allegedly offered her a coffee and and orange juice filled with tranquiliser.
The woman said she felt ‘a sensation never felt before’ after being allegedly druged and then woke up the next morning to find herself dressed in the clothes from the night before, la Repubblica reports.
Fazio’s lawyer Rocco Romellano, said, according to Ansa: ‘He’s very confused and worn out, he isn’t well, I’ve always known him to be a cordial, honest and calm person, but I cannot know if he had a double life, nothing like that has come out.’