Defence lawyer fined £2,000 after asking rape victim if she had narcissistic personality disorder

By Charlie Sawyer

Published May 17, 2024 at 11:53 AM

Reading time: 1 minute

57970

Defence solicitor Lorenzo Alonzi has been fined after a Faculty of Advocates committee found him guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct during a cross-examination in a rape trial in 2022 in Glasgow.

According to the BBC, Alonzi, who had been representing the defendant, repeatedly crossed the line while questioning rape victim Ellie Wilson. The remarks made by the attorney were upsetting to such a level that Wilson subsequently decided to file 11 complaints with the advocates’ committee.

The majority of the complaints, six of which were ultimately deemed unsatisfactory professional conduct, regarded the way Alonzi spoke to Wilson during questioning and in his closing remarks. At one point, Alonzi was accused of “abus[ing] the privileged position” he held by asking Wilson if she had narcissistic personality disorder, despite there being no report or diagnosis of the condition.

After the defendant, Daniel McFarlane had been found guilty of rape, Alonzi proceeded to tell the court his client “fell in love with the wrong person,” that he didn’t belong in court and that it was “difficult not to imagine some sense of injustice in it all.”

Interestingly, Alonzi has shown zero signs of remorse following the committee’s decision to deliver the £2,000 fine and order him to pay Wilson £1,000 in compensation.

Indeed, the committee has stated that Alonzi did not appear to clearly and unequivocally accept any wrongdoing or offer an unreserved apology.

Wilson spoke with the BBC about the situation, and while she expressed that she wished Alonzi had been served a harsher punishment, she was more upset about the attorney’s attitude towards the entire ordeal: “Alonzi has expressed no remorse for his actions and seems more concerned with the damage to his reputation rather than the harm he’s caused. It’s difficult for me to feel a sense of closure when there’s no apology.”

The rape allegedly occurred sometime between 2017 and 2018 when both McFarlane and Wilson were students at the University of Glasgow.

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

Stealthing, downblousing, marital rape: The new terms that will empower sexual assault victims in 2023

By Malavika Pradeep

After rape in the metaverse, people are debating if online teabagging is sexual assault

By Abby Amoakuh

You star Madeline Brewer faces misogynistic backlash after internet brands her character unlikeable

By Charlie Sawyer

SHEIN faces fines from EU for deceiving customers with fake discounts and misleading information

By Charlie Sawyer

22-year-old groom arrested after police find 9-year-old bride at staged Disneyland wedding

By Eliza Frost

Why is Taylor not Team Conrad in The Summer I Turned Pretty?

By Charlie Sawyer

What is Mar-a-Lago face? Unpacking the beauty trend prompted by Donald Trump’s second term

By Eliza Frost

Rina Sawayama calls out Sabrina Carpenter’s SNL performance of Nobody’s Son for cultural insensitivity 

By Eliza Frost

Is the princess treatment TikTok trend the bare minimum or a relationship red flag?

By Charlie Sawyer

McDonald’s hit with new mass boycott. Here’s who’s behind it and why

By Eliza Frost

All the Easter eggs from the first episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3

By Eliza Frost

Jennifer Aniston to star in Apple TV+ adaptation of Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died

By Eliza Frost

Taylor Swift announces new album on Travis Kelce’s podcast. Everything we know about TS12 so far

By Eliza Frost

What is the Gen Z stare, and why are millennials on TikTok so bothered by it?

By Alma Fabiani

Amazon Music is giving away 4 months free. Here’s how to claim it

By Charlie Sawyer

The #MeToo movement is at risk. How the Harvey Weinstein retrial risks doing unimaginable damage 

By Eliza Frost

Misogyny, sexism, and the manosphere: how this year’s Love Island UK has taken a step backwards

By Eliza Frost

Why isn’t Sylvanian Drama posting on TikTok? Here’s the legal tea

By Eliza Frost

Bereavement leave to be extended to miscarriages before 24 weeks

By Eliza Frost

Zayn Malik’s new song suggests One Direction era wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows