Depraved father forced son, 7, into sex with prostitutes 'to ward off homosexuality'

'[The father's] reasoning was that he didn't want his son to be gay because he already had two gay family members'

Updated with social policy ministry's statement

A 60-year-old man accused of bringing prostitutes home to share with his seven-year-old son “to prevent him from growing up to be gay” and who whipped the boy with electrical cord when he was unable to participate, has been remanded in custody.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras heard police inspectors Joseph Busuttil and John Spiteri explain that it had been the prostitutes themselves who had anonymously reported the disturbing case of sexual abuse to child protection agency Appogg.

Inspector Busuttil said that a woman who used to live with the accused had gone to the police and reported that he would take her to Marsa for prostitution, where he would wait in the car for her to service clients.

She had revealed that he would also force her to have sex with the child and had wanted to involve the boy in group sex acts with the woman. Among the charges filed was one of knowingly infecting persons with an sexually-transmitted infection which he had hidden from his sexual partners – an offence punishable by up to nine years in prison.

“His reasoning was that he didn’t want his son to be gay because he already had two gay family members,” added the inspector.

The seizure of a tablet computer belonging to the child had allowed police to view the boy’s Facebook account. “Nothing but porn” came up in his newsfeed.

The police had then spoken to the boy in the presence of a social worker. Inspector Busuttil said that during the course of that conversation, the child had given police reason to believe that code words had been agreed between the son and father for various sex acts. The boy’s silence had been bought by threats of him being institutionalised if he revealed his father’s depraved actions.

By way of example, Inspector Spiteri added that one of the women had told him that there had been times when the boy had not been able to obtain an erection and the accused had shouted at the boy, calling him “pufta” and lashing his back with an electrical cord.

Called in for questioning, one of the prostitutes had told the police that the man had also forced the child to have sex with other women, who subsequently confirmed it. Drugs would also be taken in the presence of the child, the inspector added.

Appogg had taken the child into custody and is currently homing him in care, but they had been unwilling to issue a care order because of a ministerial instruction not to issue any more care orders, the inspector told the court. “Luckily the parents both consented to the boy being taken into care.”

In a statement issued later in the day, the social policy ministry denied the instructions, saying that the social workers had immediately asked Magistrate Neville Camilleri to issue a court order to protect the minor. “It was the court that refused to do this, despite it being an emergency and that there was the immediate need for the boy to be taken out of his father’s home.”

It was Appogg’s social workers who got the father’s and mother’s consent to have the boy take under care.

Asked how the investigation had been started, Inspector Spiteri said that the two women had anonymously informed Appogg of the boy’s situation. “Although they were involved in prostitution and drug use they also felt that it was wrong.”

The two prostitutes were the only people who were taking care of the boy, added the policeman.

The accused, who appeared dishevelled and unkempt during his court appearance, wearing creased clothes and sporting several days’ growth of beard, did not speak during proceedings. Lawyer Yanika Camilleri, defending, said the accused was pleading not guilty to the charges. Bail was not requested.