Ice-cream vendor jailed for defiling girls gets reduced sentence for attempted violent indecent assault

Conviction for defiling four teen girls reduced to lesser offence on appeal

An ice-cream vendor who had been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in 2012 after a conviction for defiling four underage girls in public has had his conviction overturned on appeal.

The man, whose name was redacted from the judgment, had originally been convicted of defilement of minors and offending public morals in a place accessible to the public, 13 years ago. The sexual encounter had taken place in August 2004 near Delimara, Marsaxlokk.

In March 2012, the accused had been found guilty of the charges and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. An appeal was then lodged.

In its decision handed down Wednesday, the Court of Appeal, presided by judge David Scicluna, concluded that the man’s actions amounted to attempted violent indecent assault.

The appellate court was told that the two 14-year-old and two 12-year-old girls were already sexually active at the time.

The defence pointed out that Delimara beach was a popular bathing spot for swimmers in August and asked how nobody else had seen this incident which is alleged to have taken place in a busy car park near the beach.

The court observed that there were also a number of conflicts in the evidence. One of the girls had testified that she and a friend had gone to ask the man for an ice cream. She said the man had offered them free ice cream as long as they got into the back of the van with him. The girls had replied that they wanted the ice creams first and the man had complied.

One of the girls had initially alleged that at that point that the man had dropped his trousers, but she later said that he had remained clothed and had only made a lewd gesture. Another girl said that he had been stimulating his exposed manhood, yet another had claimed that said he was doing so while still clothed and the last girl had testified that he hadn’t masturbated at all.

On his part, the man had denied ever disrobing or touching himself or inviting the girls into the van. What had happened, he said, was that two of the girls had entered the van and asked him for free ice cream, which he had given to them under the mistaken belief that the adult responsible for them would later pay him for it.

The two girls left and shortly afterwards another two girls arrived. He had asked them what they wanted and to hurry up because he had customers waiting, but they had not replied and burst out laughing instead.

When one of the girls then asked him to give them ice cream like he had the other two, he sent them packing, admitting that foul language might have been used. “What I did was I shouted and swore and told them ‘let me tell you what I’ll give you’ and they ran away. In the meantime customers arrived and I served them.”

Assessing the girls’ testimony and that of the accused, as well as the fact that the man had chosen to release a sworn statement to police immediately after his arrest and had confirmed his account before the court, the judge said the man’s behaviour constituted an attempted violent indecent assault.

It therefore overturned the conviction for defilement of minors and transformed his prison sentence to five months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared for the man.