Father charged with beating, threatening son, aged 12

A father has denied beating and threatening his 12-year-old son, with his legal defence surging that the man had never been violent towards the boy.

The 36-year-old man, who is of Nigerian descent, was arraigned before magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, charged with having used violence and causing the boy to fear that he would be subjected to violence.

"Prosecuting Police Inspector John Spiteri also charged the accused, who is not being named in order to protect the identity of the son, with slightly injuring the boy and breaching two conditional discharges, which he had previously received for violence against the same son. " 

The father pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The accused has been in trouble with the law in the past, but not for similar crimes. He had received a suspended sentence in 2006 after admitting to having indecently exposed himself to two 17-year-old girls in Sliema and, three years later, had been charged with indecently exposing himself at a playing field. He was later acquitted of the latter charge, after he successfully proved that at the time of the alleged offence, he had been assisting his wife, who had been involved in a traffic accident.

In his submissions on bail, defence lawyer Stefano Filletti explained that, while it was true that the two had conflict issues, the father had not been violent towards the son.

The lawyer submitted that the accused had just been discharged from hospital having undergone a kidney transplant and was unable to work due to his medical condition.

The fact that the children's mother worked 12-hour shifts meant that it was down to him to care for his three children and if he were to be remanded in custody, submitted the defence, it would not only harm his fragile health but would also put greater stress on the family.

The Court was adamant that there could be no contact between the father and the son for the duration of the proceedings, but said it understood the family's particular situation.

The child's mother took the witness stand to confirm that after the previous incidents of violence, which had been addressed, she checked her children every day and had never seen any marks on them.

The woman also confirmed never having seen the father being violent towards their children. She conceded that she was not at home all the time, however, and could not say that what her son was alleging was true or not.

After hearing the defence's submissions and the mother's testimony, the Court upheld the request for bail, ordering the accused to provide a personal guarantee of €1,500 and sign a bail book twice a week.

In addition to this, a protection order in favour of the minor child was issued. The court ordered the son be removed from home and live with the maternal grandparents for his protection during the course of the proceedings.