Police want Stellingwerf rape case to continue in private

A court has given itself till October to decide whether proceedings for filing a false police report, instituted on the complaint of a Dutch national who is charged with the rape of his former girlfriend, will continue outside the reach of the media spotlight.

33-year-old Johan Stellingwerf had been the subject of a media feeding frenzy after he was charged, in open court, with the rape of his former Maltese girlfriend in Malta and with defrauding her of approximately €25,000 over the course of their four-month relationship.



This morning, Police Inspector Yvonne Farrugia asked Magistrate Aaron Bugeja to order that the case continue behind closed doors, pointing out that the criminal case against Stelligwerf is being heard in secret.

Lawyer Giannella de Marco, who is appearing as parte civile for the woman, supported the request which was made during today’s fourth sitting in the proceedings initiated by Stellingwerf against the police.

But this was met with objection by lawyer Jason Grima, appearing for Stellingwerf, who explained that details had already been made public in the course of previous court hearings.

Surprisingly, this had already happened in the original criminal case, with the prosecution requesting that the case continue behind closed door over a year after the start of public proceedings. 

De Marco said it would be inconsistent to have the publicity of two cases, which are dealing with the same facts being treated dissimilarly. Maintaining secrecy would encourage persons in similar situations to come forward to the police, said the lawyer. 

 Magistrate Bugeja ordered both parties to submit their requests in writing and  postponed the sitting to October, by which time he would have decreed on the matter.

Originally charged with rape, Stellingwerf had filed challenge proceedings requesting the court order the police to prosecute his accuser for filing a false police report and perjury. 


In a previous sitting, Stellingwerf had swamped the court with over a thousand photographs of himself and the victim. According to the man, the relationship soured after the woman stopped paying his company for web consultancy services.

He had told her to pay her bills or he would have no choice but to begin debt collection procedures.

He had presented the court with several coloured folders - which he said contained 1,300 pictures of him and his accuser – organised in batches corresponding to their various trips abroad and periods spent together in Malta

He had also submitted several nude pictures, which he claims the alleged victim had sent him via email during the period from 31 January to 4 June - at which time she claimed to have been raped repeatedly by the Dutchman, for hours on end and on an almost daily basis.