Banker's jail term raised in 'kidnap abortion' case

Milan, February 23 - An appeals court on Tuesday raised from four to seven years the jail term of a former Deutsche Bank manager convicted of kidnapping a pregnant prostitute to try and force her to have an abortion. The former manager, Marco Pracca, was found guilty of ordering the 2011 kidnapping of a call girl who was expecting his baby. The woman was held prisoner in a house in the countryside for two days before she was released, without the abortion happening. Prosecutors wanted Pracca sentenced to 14 years, arguing that the intended forced abortion amounted to a ransom payment and therefore he should be convicted of the more serious charge of "abduction for ransom" and not simple abduction. Sentences ranging from 12 years and eight months to three years and eight months were handed down on Pracco's five accomplices.