A mistress in Italy has been ordered to pay £390,000 in compensation to her lover’s wife and children after he suffocated during a bondage sex game.
The court assessed the family’s total claim at around €1.125 million (about £972,000). However, it ruled that the lover was only 40% responsible for the damages, as the 61-year-old victim had willingly taken part in the risky sexual activity and was deemed 60% responsible for his own death.
Paramedics from the 118 emergency service were called to the attic flat in Alessandria, in Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region, but were unable to save him. The incident occurred in 2016.
The Alessandria civil court has now ordered the woman to pay €450,000 (£390,000) to the man’s wife and three children, bringing a 10-year legal process to a close.
The woman had previously been convicted of negligent homicide in a final criminal ruling. During the trial, it was heard that the pair had regularly engaged in bondage practices involving restraint using ropes, handcuffs, or blindfolds.
The original charge of involuntary manslaughter was reduced after judges determined there was shared responsibility between the two parties. She received a one-year prison sentence in the criminal case, while the issue of financial damages was left to a separate civil proceeding.
In its final ruling, the civil court assigned 40% responsibility to the woman and 60% to the deceased, using that split to calculate the compensation owed to his family.
The decision concludes a legal case that has lasted nearly a decade since the fatal incident.
