Court punishes man for withholding sex From correspondents in Rome March 25, 2005 From: Agence France-Presse
A SICILIAN man who withheld sex from his wife for seven years after an argument was ordered by an Italian court to pay maintenance.
The man, Francesco, decided to punish his wife Piera after she opposed him in a family argument - a punishment that lasted seven years. The highest Italian appeals court called the man's actions - or rather inactions - an "offence to her dignity", and said it constituted grounds for separation.
The court ordered him to pay court costs and maintenance to his now former wife and their children, born when their marriage saw happier times.
"The refusal to have sexual and affectionate relations over seven years with his wife constitutes a very serious offence to her dignity and has caused frustration with serious consequences for her psychological equilibrium," the court judgment stated.
The behaviour is a violation of article 143 of the civil code which imposes a duty of moral and material assistance between husband and wife, the court ruled.
