Girls’ football coach accused of groping young player granted bail

A court has prohibited a girls’ football team coach from sports coaching as part of his bail conditions after he was charged on October 25 with defiling a 15-year-old female footballer in his care.

The man, who is in his 70s and who cannot be named by order of the court, was granted bail by the Court of Magistrates with a deposit of €2,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000, after being accused of defilement of a minor and abuse of a child entrusted to his care.

The accused, who has a previous conviction for defiling a minor dating back to the 1970s, had been remanded in custody upon his arraignment. He is pleading not guilty to the non-consensual sexual acts, defilement as well as having repeatedly subjected the vulnerable victim to such offensive, humiliating, degrading and intimidating behaviour.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit released the man from arrest after taking into account the fact that all vulnerable witnesses had testified in the first sitting after the arraignment.

The alleged abuse had surfaced after the 15-year-old girl opened up to social workers, telling them that the man would grope her whilst accompanying her to and from training.

The court had heard police inspector John Spiteri explain that the girl needed psychiatric help after showing suicidal tendencies following the alleged abuse.

The Attorney General had strongly opposed bail, arguing that the man had previous convictions for identical offences and that photographs of young girls walking in the street were found on his mobile phone.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Richard Sladden, appearing for the accused, had told the court that the man had cooperated with the police and was willing to submit to supervision as directed by the court. The defence added that both the minor and her mother had not wanted to report the man to the police.