US student, 19, was 'drugged and gang-raped' on beach in Italy

Two 20-year-olds are being investigated after an American student was allegedly given 'date rape drugs' before she was gang-raped on an Italian beach. 

The 19-year-old US citizen claims the attack occurred during a party in the beach resort of Punta Marina - close to the city of Ravenna in northern Italy - on the night of August 25. 

It is understood that the investigation is now focused on two 20-year-olds as the Italian authorities attempt to ascertain whether a date rape drug was used on the woman. 

Corriera Della Sera, an Italian news site, reported that the young woman who was in Italy as part of a cultural exchange first confided in the mother of her host family before calling her own family in America.

She then visited a nearby hospital where she was examined before immediately returning to the US. 

The young woman is protected by the lawyer Angelo Stirone. The investigations of  are coordinated by the prosecutor Lucrezia Ciriello.

Meanwhile, two suspects are defended by lawyers Giovanni Scudellari and Maria Teresa Rizzo 

It was previously reported that CCTV footage from clubs in the beach resort will be examined for evidence. 

It comes just months after two American students were raped after they were split up by opportunistic attackers, aged 18 and 19, as they were returning to their hotel in the city of Siracusa in Sicily.

The suspects, who have been described as locals, are now in police custody.

The horror unfolded on the night of July 3. The victims were coming back from spending the evening in the Ortigia-section of the town and were in the marina-area when they were approached.

The attackers were on a scooter. According to reports in Sicily, the victims were trying to use a cigarette vending machine but were unable because Italian machines require the purchaser to have a national ID in order to verify the age.

The two US citizens were separated as one of the boys offered the use of a card. That's when the attacks happened.

One of the women was attacked close to the marina, the other is thought to have been brought back to a house where the same fate befell her.

Both victims went straight to the police the morning after being attacked. An investigation was launched by Siracusa's vice squad who quickly identified the two men.

They were arrested at dawn on the morning of July 5, charged with aggravated sexual assault, and taken to a local jail.

The victims are both in Italy for studying purposes. A statement from the prosecutor's office said that the attackers took advantage of the two women's lack of Italian in order to engineer their attack.