Mexican athlete Fernanda Herrera has made her identity public as a victim of sexual assault and has recounted her experience following the acquittal of the two men she accused of an alleged rape that occurred in Italy three years ago in a hotel during a summer sports camp.
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The athlete, who practices fencing in the sabre discipline, explained that she decided to speak openly about her story to highlight the obstacles that, according to her, many women face when reporting this type of crime. “I didn’t want to show my face all this time, now I’m tired, I want to be seen because I am proud of myself. I am proud because in these three years, besides sacrificing myself for the sport, I have fought to obtain justice and I will not stop,” the woman said tearfully to the media outside the court. She denounced that in the sports world, her case is not isolated: “I can’t believe what has happened. This cannot keep happening, it’s not just me, there are so many cases in sports and in the world where women are silenced,” she said. She encouraged other victims who have gone through similar situations to share their stories: “I am here for all of you, and please, speak up when something so awful happens to you,” she added.
The Mexican fencer explained that she decided to tell her case with her full name because she considers it important to break the silence and stigma surrounding sexual assaults. She also emphasized that the acquittal of the accused in the first instance does not invalidate her account and announced that she will appeal the judge’s decision. “I will go all the way to get justice,” she said.
After analyzing the case over three years, the Italian justice system determined the acquittal of the accused, considering that the evidence presented by the athlete did not prove the facts beyond a reasonable doubt. Herrera publicly expressed her disappointment with the judicial outcome and stressed that she maintains her version of the events.
Her mother, who has accompanied her throughout the judicial process and was also with her in Italy when the events occurred, expressed her disappointment with the Italian justice system. “It has been a devastating sentence, I cannot describe the pain and helplessness we feel after three years facing a ghost that has not allowed us to move forward,” the woman said through her lawyer. She added: “It is still difficult for women to find justice, even when they decide to report. We live in a world where voice, power, and protection still lie with men. The judge’s decision does not change the bravery my daughter has shown.”
Fernanda Herrera explained that everything happened when she was 17 years old and was in Italy participating in a sports training camp, preparing for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. “I was looking for a future and I found the worst people I could imagine,” she recounted. She continued: “In these three years, I have kept fighting for medals and for justice.” According to her testimony, the young woman was with three Italian athletes in a bar the night of the incident; they were the two accused and a third who was a minor and has not been tried. Her sports companions encouraged her to drink alcohol and then took her to their hotel room where, according to her version, they abused her while laughing. The next morning she filed a complaint.
The complainant’s lawyer, Luciano Guidarelli, announced that they will file an appeal against the acquittal. “In my opinion, the trial should have taken a different course. During the trial, it became clear that my client was not in a condition to discern or give valid consent to have sexual relations. We are talking about a young woman who was a minor at the time and who has had the courage to face everything, recounting and denouncing the abuse and violence,” the lawyer said. He added: “Today this young woman has achieved a victory much more valuable than any medal; she has faced the situation to denounce the system’s deficiencies.”
The prosecution had requested five years in prison for the accused, who are also fencers, two Milanese men currently aged 23 and 25, Lapo Pucci and Emanuele Nardella. The victim’s lawyer criticized the passivity of the Italian Fencing Federation at the start of the process for not immediately suspending the accused athletes. The sports organization decided to suspend them provisionally in 2024 and expelled them in 2025. The young men’s lawyers filed an appeal against the Federation’s decision and obtained the suspension of the disciplinary process in the sports sphere until there was a final sentence. Now, with the acquittal in the first instance, they could compete again.
The lawyers have defended the innocence of the accused and argued that what happened is due to “communication problems” between the accused and the victim and the lack of maturity of all involved at the time of the events. “These trials leave a bitter taste for everyone. They are all very young guys; it is more of a sociocultural problem, there is an issue with communication codes and they lack adequate tools to understand each other,” said lawyer Enrico De Martino. “These guys need to mature in how they relate to the opposite sex. We addressed this aspect throughout the trial and recognized it through a restorative justice program, but in any case, justice has been done. You always have to wait for the sentences before declaring someone guilty,” added another defense lawyer, Antonio Starace.
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