Justice denied: Rape, silence and a priest

Being acquitted of rape by the criminal court does not automatically mean the rape did not take place. Indeed, Nadur brothers Mark Lorry Said, Peter Paul Said and Josef Said, and their friend, Peter Paul Debono have only their big wallets and a medieval law to thank for being acquitted of sexually abusing and raping a 14-year-old girl in a case that goes back almost 20 years. The Said brothers are the siblings of Nationalist MP Chris Said.

The acquittal, confirmed last week by the Appeals Court, had very little to do with the merits of the case and everything to do with the way the law was written in 2008 when the abuse was reported to the police.

The mere fact that the victim as an adult accepted to drop the charges in 2017 and 2020, after an out of court settlement worth €120,000 was reached, meant that the police could not pursue the case on their own steam. Prosecutors could only do so if the vile acts happened in a public setting and not on private property. The prosecution did try to secure a conviction but the court ruled the places where the abuse took place were private settings and thus at law required a complaint from the victim for the police to act. The moment the complaint was withdrawn, the police case immediately ended on thin ice.

Since then, the archaic law has been changed to allow the police to continue prosecuting ex officio even if the victim of rape and abuse withdraws the complaint.

This leader will not comment on the victim’s decision to drop the charges. She may have had personal reasons to accept the settlement and close that dark chapter in her life once and for all. It is not for us or anybody else to pass judgement on her actions as an adult to close the case. We have no doubt it was a very difficult decision to make on a very personal and sensitive matter.

Nonetheless, it has to be noted that back in 2008 the men had tried, through relatives who acted as intermediaries, to buy the silence of the victim’s family with a €7,000 offer. It was a despicable and evil move intended to apply pressure on the family at their most vulnerable.

The family did withdraw the complaint a day later, a decision that caused the rape charges to be extinguished, even though the family later told the court they acquiesced under duress and regretted accepting the payment.

But to make matters worse, one of the intermediaries was a priest, Fr Michael Said, whose moral authority undoubtedly weighed down on the victim and her family. It was he who signed the settlement contract to formalise the agreement and preside over what he cheekily described as a “donation” to pay for psychological help for the minor.

The priest’s actions were not motivated by the child’s wellbeing. He was neither interested in seeing justice be done. On the contrary, the priest was more concerned about the impact the girl’s accusations would have on his extended family’s honour. The arrangement he brokered was a dirty deal intended to impose silence.

But what is revolting is the Gozo Curia’s abject silence on this case—not even an apology to the victim. Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma is not one to shy away from making controversial statements and observations. He recently did it on child care centres, condemning their use for children up to two years of age.

But Teuma had no words of condemnation for Fr Michael Said’s despicable behaviour despite the priest enjoying a position of ecclesiastical authority.

Fr Michael Said was in November last year appointed archpriest of Gozo’s Żebbuġ parish. We shudder to think what Said would tell a parishioner who is a victim of abuse and who confides in him about their suffering.

However, this case also casts a spotlight on the unforgiveable delays that hound the criminal justice system. It took 17 years for the case to be decided and a further year to be concluded on appeal. It is a classic case of justice delayed; justice denied. The girl, now a woman, had her trauma re-opened 18 years later. And while the accused men continue to live scot-free, the priest discharges his godly functions as if nothing happened. What a disgrace!