Two women from Hong Kong have emerged as possible victims of an Italian policeman who used the Couchsurfing hospitality exchange website to prey on young female travelers.
At least 16 women from ten countries have accused Dino Maglio, 36, of drugging and sexually abusing them during their stay at his home in Padua, northern Italy.
According to one one victim who contacted other former guests of Maglio's, however, "hundreds" have said that they were sexually assaulted.
A spokesperson for couchsurfing.com, which connects tourists with locals willing to offer free accommodation in their homes, has said that the company is "evolving our tools and processes to find and halt abusers of our system."
Maglio used his status as a policeman who win his victims' trust, and then threatened them with legal ramifications if they reported the case or even did so much as write a negative review on his profile. If he did receive negative reviews, he simply created a new account under a different pseudonym.
Maglio's Couchsurfing profile
Maglio's first-floor flat in Padua
Maglio with guests
Maglio is currently behind bars in a military prison, awaiting trial for the rape of a 16-year-old Australian girl who was traveling with her mother and little sister at the time.
[Images via Investigative Reporting Project Italy]
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