Policeman ‘used accommodation website to drug and assault tourists’
The safety of travellers using the social media website Couchsurfers.com to find free accommodation has been called into question following the arrest of an Italian policeman who is accused of drugging and abusing an Australian tourist as she slept in his apartment.
The 16-year-old Australian tourist, who was staying with 35-year-old Dino Maglio with her mother and younger sister, has accused Maglio of drugging her with a tranquilliser and having sex with her.
Since the case was publicised, several other women have since come forward to claim that they were also assaulted by Maglio while staying with him in Padua. He is due to stand trial in March.
Couchsurfing.com has grown in popularity among travellers looking for free accommodation and sometimes friendship in foreign cities, but, according to the Guardian, it has been linked to several alleged sexual assaults over the year, including the rape of a Hong Kong tourist in Leeds in 2009.
Chief executive Jennifer Billock told the newspaper that users’ safety was a top priority and that it was constantly ‘evolving our tools and processes to find and halt abusers of our system’.
She said users of the site were encouraged to look for hosts with verified profiles with multiple positive references, that they ought to have a backup plan when travelling, and to trust their instincts if a situation ‘doesn’t feel right’.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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