Paedophile, 45, has prison sentence for sex with 12-year-old girl confirmed on appeal

The Court of Criminal Appeal has confirmed a four-year prison sentence handed to a paedophile for having sex with a 12-year-old girl and sexually defiling her friend,10.

Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja heard the appeal filed by Leslie Vella, 45, of Senglea who had been accused in 2017 of having misused technology to propose meeting a 12-year old girl, participating in sexual activity with the 12-year-old and defiling another 10-year-old girl.

During Vella’s arraignment four years ago, the court had heard how the parents of both children had gone to the police after one of the children had told her cousin about the abuse, who then told his mother, who, in turn informed the parents.

The 10-year-old child had been groped, but in the case of the 12-year-old, there had been full intercourse. The abuse occurred near a supermarket in Qormi and in the sea off Marsascala near the site of the Jerma hotel. During his interrogation, the man had admitted to police that he had abused one of the girls at a seaside property, but not the other.

The girl had been a willing participant and had already been sexually active, submitted the defence, arguing amongst other things that corrupta non corrupitur – that a completely corrupted person could not be corrupted further.

In fact, the judge noted that the recorded testimony of the 12 year-old was surprisingly detached. “Even the way she described her approach to the proposal of anal sex with the appellant, although at first she was reluctant, it emerged that she didn’t need too much prodding to consent and carry it out. The fact that this same minor had already been deflowered by a boy a year older than her, and that she also chose to involve the appellant in the showing of a video clip of the boy’s penis, showed a certain laxity in the manner in which this minor related to sex -despite the fact she was a 12-year-old girl.”

The court went on, however, to argue that even in today’s society, where sex was no longer a taboo, but had been “made banal, broadcast and sold on several broadcast media and the internet… where Maltese society had started to treat sexual material with a certain detachment, where the age of consent was reduced to 16 and even if this minor…was not new to sexual experiences, on the other hand it could not be said that the appellant’s behaviour did her any good.”

A 41-year-old (at the time) man with several women in his life had no reason to enter into another sexual relationship, this time with a 12-year-old, Mr. Justice Bugeja said.

The appeals court upheld the decision by the court of magistrates, observing that the sexual encounters the girl had with the accused went far beyond that which she had experienced with her 13 year-old boyfriend. “The evidence shows that the appellant had introduced her to anal sex. Rather, he had encouraged this activity with the aim of being able to consummate the sexual act without the risk of the minor getting pregnant.”

The minor had said the man wanted to “get her used to” this activity, which the court interpreted as indicating that the man had plans for further abuse.

With regards to the punishment inflicted on the accused, the court said that this fell within the sentencing parameters of the law, and was close to the minimum awardable given the aggravating factors.

“But more than this, the punishment handed down by the Court of Magistrates reflects the gravity of the case where the appellant, a 41 year old man had repeated and lurid sexual activities with a 12 year-old girl, part of a group of adult friends and other children frequented by the appellant.”

Had the man resisted his passions and thought it through properly, he would have avoided a lot of pain and worry for himself and others, said the judge, as he confirmed the original sentence.

The court also imposed a ban on the publication of the names of the victims.

Lawyer David Camilleri was defence counsel. Lawyers Mario Mifsud and Francois Dalli appeared parte civile for the victims.