Rome: A 51-year-old woman doctor was allegedly raped by a 26-year-old male patient at an out-of-hours surgery in Sicily, reports said on Tuesday.
The female doctor was taken to hospital in Santa Marta di Acireale in a state of shock after the late-night attack at around 2.30 a.m. in the town of Trecastagni near Catania. A resident living opposite the out-of-hours surgery heard the woman screaming and called police, who arrested her alleged rapist at the scene, according to local reports.
The doctor's ordeal may have lasted for several hours after the man is believed to have smashed the surgery's phone and ripped out an emergency button to connect staff to police, according to La Sicilia newspaper.
The man's employer and the owner of a local bar said he drank but had not seen him behave anti-socially. Trecastagni's Mayor said social services had obliged the man to undergo psychiatric treatment in the past.
Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin held an emergency meeting and local prosecutors opened a probe.
"What happened in Catania is horrendous," said Lorenzin, vowing zero tolerance for such crimes.
"The man responsible for this offensive and inhumane act has been arrested and I hope he will receive an exemplary sentence. It's clear we cannot compromise on certain things."