Judge throws out objections by elderly man accused of defiling girl

The Criminal Court has dismissed a number of objections filed by an elderly man awaiting trial by jury for defiling an eight-year-old girl.

In 2016, Grazio Azzopardi of Żabbar, then 65 years old, was indicted and will face a trial by jury for being involved in sexual acts with an eight-year-old girl and defiling her.

Azzopardi also stands accused of having used or threatened violence against the girl and of distributing child pornography. Azzopardi was further accused of committing the crimes when he was the girl’s tutor.

The man’s lawyer had argued amongst other things that the prosecution had “dramatized” the charges so as to “immediately give jurors an impression that throws a bad light on the accused and could consequently irremediably prejudice his trial from the very beginning.”

Azzopardi also claimed that his statement was taken irregularly and in breach of his rights.

But the court, presided by Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti ruled that the jury process had the necessary safeguards to counterbalance any dramatization of the charges and that the examination of whether or not the accused’s statement had been taken in a manner which breached his rights or was inadmissible was something that would have to be seen at the revision stage.

There was no reason for the statement in question to be declared inadmissible, said the judge.

An objection to the exhibition of the statement on the grounds that he was not assisted by a lawyer at the time it was taken, was also rejected, as it had been taken down according to the law in force at the time.

His argument that the medical doctor who examined the victim was to be taken as an ordinary witness and not as an expert witness, as she was later so appointed by the court, was also dismissed.