Rudy Guede Indicted for Sexual Abuse of Ex-Girlfriend

Rome: Rudy Guede, known for his involvement in the Meredith Kercher murder case, has been indicted on charges of sexually abusing his ex-girlfriend. The trial for the 38-year-old Ivorian is scheduled to commence in Rome on November 4.

According to Ansa News Agency, Guede was previously the only person convicted for the murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher in 2007. He was released from prison in November 2021 after serving 13 years of a 16-year sentence for the murder, which took place in the Perugia apartment Kercher shared with American Amanda Knox.

Guede remains the sole individual definitively convicted of Kercher’s murder in Perugia after the Italian supreme court acquitted Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, overturning their earlier convictions. Despite Guede’s claims of innocence, his attempts to have his case reviewed following the acquittal of Knox and Sollecito were unsuccessful.

The conviction against Guede was upheld due to his DNA being found at the crime scene and inside Kercher. Knox and Sollecito’s initial conviction was later ruled unsafe because of DNA evidence, which led to their final acquittal.

Guede has stated that he went into a “state of shock” upon discovering Kercher’s body after a visit to the bathroom on the night of her murder. He fled Italy following the incident and was apprehended in Germany shortly thereafter.