Company director denies ex-girlfriend's rape charge

Accused was charged with rape, holding the woman against her will, causing her slight bodily harm and mental distress, and harassment

File Photo
File Photo

A 35-year-old man from Sweden has been remanded in custody by Magistrate Joe Mifsud, after he was charged with raping his ex-girlfriend.

Ilpo Lalli was charged rape, holding the woman against her will, causing her slight bodily harm and mental distress, and harassment. He was also accused of insulting or threatening her.

The prosecution told the court that the Qawra police station was informed of the incident, when the alleged victim had gone to file a report. She had claimed that she had gone to the accused’s apartment to collect some personal items on 27 October, but was unable to open the door and called the police. When the police went to the apartment, she told them, that earlier that day, she had been raped by the accused.

Lalli, from Stokholm, was alleged to have committed the offences in St. Paul’s Bay, over a period of several days. He pleaded not guilty and requested bail.

The request was met with strong opposition from the prosecution, which argued that the victim and other important witnesses were yet to testify.

Defence lawyers Matthew Xuereb, Roberto Spiteri and Lucio Sciriha, appearing for the accused, argued that the story was a fabrication - that had led to conflict within the defendant’s family.

The defence requested a ban on the publication of the name of the accused, “this is a person, an economics graduate who owns a company here, who invested in the country,” Xuereb argued. 

The court ,however, rejected the defence’s request for a ban on the publication of the name of the accused, saying that it was only the name of the alleged victim that should not be published.

The defence requested bail, pointing out that electronic tagging was an option that was still being used infrequently, despite being introduced a while ago.

In their submissions on bail, the prosecution said that after the alleged rape, the accused had followed the woman to the police station, when she went to file her report. This was rebutted by Xuereb, who argued that he had gone to the police station to file a report about the woman.

Magistrate Mifsud denied bail to the accused, saying that it was important that Malta and its society were protected.

Inspectors Dorianne Tabone, George Schembri and Audrey Micallef prosecuted, assisted by AG prosecutor Sean Gabriel Azzopardi.