St Paul’s Bay man accused of defiling daughter, 14, and friend, 15

A chance encounter with police officers investigating a report of a man breaching his bail conditions, has led to the man being charged with defiling his 14-year-old daughter and her friend.

The 44-year-old St. Paul’s Bay resident was denied bail this afternoon after he was arrainged in court, charged with participating in sexual activities with his 14-year-old daughter as well as corrupting her and her 15-year-old friend.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli presided over the arraignment of the Libyan national, who confirmed to the court that he resided in St. Paul’s Bay and worked as a plasterer.

Police inspector Joseph Busuttil, prosecuting together with lawyer Darlene Grima from the Office of the Attorney General, explained that the accused was currently living with a girlfriend, pending marital separation proceedings from his wife.

The man’s wife had phoned the police to report that he was out, in breach of his bail conditions, so officers had been dispatched to his address to confirm this.

But while they were there, the accused’s daughter told the police officers that the man had shown her pornography and had urged her to masturbate instead of having sex with men, said the inspector. His daughter’s friend said that she had overheard him telling his daughter this and had then given her the same advice.

After being taken into police custody, the accused had released a statement, in which he claimed that he had told the girl’s mother to encourage her daughter to seek sexual satisfaction in that way.

Defence counsel, lawyer Mario Mifsud told the court that he would not be requesting bail at this stage, but urged the prosecution to summon their witnesses in the next sitting.

The court issued a ban on publication of the name of the accused, after noting that the accused and his alleged victim shared the same surname, saying that publication could lead to the identification and subsequent secondary victimisation of the victim.