Man jailed for two and a half years for 'knowingly assisting' in man's rape

An Egyptian man has been jailed for his part in a 2015 rape of a Filipino man in Floriana

The accused entered an unconditional guilty plea at a later stage
The accused entered an unconditional guilty plea at a later stage

An Egyptian man has been jailed for his involvement in the rape of a man in 2015.

26-year-old Helmy Mohamed Helmay Elmosaty had been charged, together with 35-year-old Ramy Gamal Elasrag, in 2015 in connection with the man's rape, in Gnien il-Mall at Floriana.

Elasrag was charged with the rape itself and holding the man against his will, whilst Elmosaty was charged with knowingly assisting the commission of a rape and illegal arrest.

Both men had initially pleaded not guilty.

In a sitting in December 2015, the court had heard a police constable testify how on August 31 that year, he had been dispatched from the Valletta Police station to deal with a report of theft.

Upon arriving at the scene, the policeman said that he had found a Filipino man who told him how he had been threatened with a knife by two Arab men, who then stole his bag. The Filipino claimed that he then started shouting for help and in the ensuing mayhem, one of the attackers dropped a mobile phone he had been carrying.

The police had analysed the photos on the phone's memory card in his presence. The Filipino had recognised Elmosaty from the photos, said the constable. He had declined the police's offer of arranging for medical assistance.

Further analysis of the photos led the police to Elasrag. The phone number of the dropped handset corresponded with a Facebook account belonging to the Egyptian. The victim had also given a matching description of his attackers, said the policeman.

Asked by Elasrag's lawyer, the witness had replied that the initial phone call to police was made by a foreign watchman who had been working at a nearby film set. The police officer had confirmed that the Filipino victim was fully dressed when he arrived on the scene and had only reported the theft.

This account was corroborated by a female Police Sergeant who also testified that the victim had told her that two Arab men had threatened him with a knife and ordered him to hand over his bag. His description of the clothes worn by the accused matched the clothes in which they had been arrested, she added.

The victim did not mention being beaten, she said.

But although both men had denied the charges during their arraignment, Elmosaty entered an unconditional guilty plea to the rape-related charges at a later stage. Magistrate Aaron Bugeja sentenced the man to imprisonment for two years and six months.

Police Inspectors Saviour Baldacchino and Jeffrey Scicluna prosecuted.