Two US students 'raped by Italian police officers' in Florence

Italy's defence minister says there is 'some basis' to allegations

Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore and campanile in Florence, Tuscany, Italy (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Italian prosecutors are investigating claims two US students were raped by police officers in Florence.

The two women, aged 19 and 20, claim they were attacked after accepting a lift from two Carabinieri policemen on the way home from a night out.

The women say they were attacked as they entered their accommodation before reaching their rooms.

Prosecutors are now waiting on DNA results to shed more light on the incident.

One suspect said he did have sex with one of the women while on duty but contends the sex was consensual and that the woman was not drunk, which would preclude ability to give consent.

The policemen, who have both been suspended, deny the allegations.

But authorities said hospital tests indicated the women had been drinking heavily before the police drove them home and Italy's defence minister said there was "some basis" to the allegations.

"Investigations are still ongoing, but there is some basis regarding the allegations," Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti told a conference on women's issues late on Friday.

"Rape is always a serious matter. But it's of unprecedented seriousness if it is committed by Carabinieri in uniform."

The Carabinieri is a paramilitary police force under the control of the Defence Ministry. It works alongside the national police, which is controlled by the Interior Ministry.

The allegations levelled against the Carabinieri have dismayed the Italian establishment.

"If this is true, and I hope that light is shed on the matter as soon as possible, then it would be an act of unheard–of gravity," Tullio Del Sette, the head of the army, told the ANSA news agency.

Additional reporting by Reuters