18 year-old rape suspect charged after arrest on board flight departing for Poland

An 18-year-old man has been charged with rape after a last-minute arrest on board a flight that was about to leave Malta.

Jerzy Maksymilian Krol, 18, from Poland, was arraigned before magistrate Ian Farrugia this morning by Vice Squad Inspector John Spiteri, assisted by prosecutors Angele Vella and Jean-Paul Attard from the office of the Attorney General.

Krol was charged with rape, illegal arrest and committing a non-consensual sexual act on his female victim. The incident happened on 25 February, the court was told.

The accused was identified from CCTV footage collected by the police in Paceville. But investigators had to move fast after receiving information that Krol was about to leave the islands on a flight to Poland.

Officers subsequently boarded Krol’s aircraft and took the accused into custody.

In court this morning, the Pole pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Mark Mifsud Cutajar, requested bail, but the court turned down this request.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile, representing the victim in the proceedings.