‘Strict’ stepdad who turned off teens’ WiFi falsely accused of sex abuse

A court has appointed mental health experts to examine two girls who reported being sexually abused by their stepfather, after they contacted a social worker to withdraw their accusations.

This as the compilation of evidence against a 40-year-old man continued before Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, in which he stands accused of corrupting the two girls, aged 12 and 15, participating in sexual activities with underage persons and repeatedly committing sexual offences on vulnerable persons.

A social worker testified that the investigation began after the Child Protection Directorate received an anonymous phone call from a female caller, stating that her friend’s daughter had confided in her own daughter of having been sexually abused by her stepfather ever since she was 10.

Social workers then visited the girl’s school, and sent for the 15-year-old. Although initially reluctant to speak to them, after being asked a couple of questions, the girl said her stepfather was sexually abusing her by touching her private parts.

The social worker then contacted the police, who called in the mother for questioning. The children’s mother repeatedly told the police that her husband was “not that sort of person” and that the children were lying, the court was told.

Two days after the man’s arraignment, the social worker received a phone call from the 15-year-old girl, who said she wanted to speak to her urgently as everything she had told them were lies. 

Testifying via videoconferencing today, the girls told the court they had had made up the abuse allegations because they didn’t like their strict stepfather. The eldest daughter said that they had made the false report because that their mother was devoted to the accused, who was a disciplinarian and would turn off their home WiFi to restrict the girl’s internet access as a punishment.

She said that she had come up with the plan together with her younger sister during a free lesson. Her younger sister was initially reluctant but agreed to the plan after her sibling told her that lying about the accused could be their only way to get rid of the man, as their mother would never leave him. She decided to tell some of her friends that she was being sexually abused as she knew that at least one of them would tell an adult.  

The girl reiterated to the court that she had lied to the social worker and to the police, admitting that she had never actually been sexually abused by her mother’s husband. She explained that she had decided to speak up at this point because “things had gotten out of hand now,” adding that she had never thought that actions would cause such serious consequences.

Neither was she aware of any sexual abuse carried out by the accused on her younger sister, who is 13, she said.

The younger child also testified via videoconferencing, telling the court that she had been a reluctant participant in her sister’s plan from the very beginning, adding that she had asked two of her friends for their opinions about the idea. The 13-year-old had subsequently decided to follow her sister’s plan and tell the social worker and the police that she had been sexually abused by her mum's husband on one isolated occasion.

The teenager insisted with the court that she had lied about her stepfather because they were always arguing about insignificant things, but that now she was telling the truth.

In the light of the strange turn the case had taken, presiding magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit appointed two experts, a psychologist and a psychiatrist, to examine the two children, before taking any further steps. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel.