Student Nina de Chiffre faces sexual assault charges for kissing a riot police officer The unconventional form of protest. AN ITALIAN student is facing sexual assault charges for kissing a riot police officer in the middle of a protest. Nina de Chiffre, 20, was demonstrating against the construction of a rail link in northern Italy when she came face to face with riot police. She decided to get a bit intimate with one of the officers, kissing and licking his helmet visor. The moment was caught on camera, and the image became a symbol of peaceful protest. Then the Italian police union filed a complaint with a court in Turin, accusing Ms de Chiffre of sexual assault, La Repubblica reports. "We have accused the protester of sexual violence and insulting a public official," said the union's general secretary, Franco Maccari. "If the policeman had kissed her, World War III would have broken out," he said. Or what if I had patted her on the behind? She would have been outraged. So if she does that to a man on duty, should it be tolerated? "A kiss is a positive thing," he said. But in this context, between these two people, it was just disrespect. That sounds a bit cynical, but Ms de Chiffre's own words seem to back up Mr Maccari's argument. "No peace message," she wrote on Facebook. I would hang all these disgusting pigs upside down. Ms de Chiffre told La Repubblica the riot police had beaten one of her fellow protesters. I saw this young man in uniform and I felt pity and disgust.