Elderly man denied bail after granddaughter accuses him of sexual abuse

A 72-year-old man from Bahar ic-Ċagħaq has been remanded in custody after denying charges of sexually abusing his underage granddaughter.

The defendant, who is not being named due to a court order, was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Kevan Azzopardi, accused of corrupting his underage granddaughter, committing non-consensual sexual acts and harassing her. He pleaded not guilty.

Defence lawyer Jose Herrera asked for bail.

Police Inspector Roxanne Tabone, prosecuting together with prosecutors Angele Vella and Danika Vella from the Office of the Attorney General, told the court that on June 4, the Vice Squad had received a report from the girl’s school. One of the students had been contemplating self-harm and when school counsellors had asked what led her to this, the girl told them that her paternal grandfather was touching her inappropriately.

The police had then spoken to the girl, and a magisterial inquiry was launched. An arrest warrant was issued for the defendant earlier this month after the conclusion of the inquiry which recommended that he be charged.

The prosecution initially requested a ban on the publication of the victim’s name but not that of the accused’s, telling the court that the defendant coached a girl’s football team and that publication of his details could encourage other potential victims to come forward.

The magistrate expressed concern that the defendant’s name would automatically lead to the identification of the victim. “The primary issue is that there is a victim who is a minor and who must not be exposed to more harm,” he said.

The prosecutor agreed with the court’s reasoning and agreed with the request to ban the publication of both the victim’s and the defendant’s names. The court upheld the amended request and stressed that it was ordering the ban on the names for the sole purpose of protecting the alleged victim.

The defence’s request for bail was objected to by the prosecution, who argued that the proceedings were at a very early stage, with the victim not yet having testified, which led to a risk of evidence being tampered with.

Herrera replied that the fact that the alleged victim had not testified yet did not automatically preclude the granting of bail.

The defendant was 72 years old, and his son - the girl’s father- was outside the courtroom and was prepared to testify and vouch for him, said the lawyer, pointing out that the defendant never had any other similar reports against him in his career.

The man’s other defence lawyer, Matthew Xuereb, submitted that the alleged offence took place back in 2019. The alleged victim is now over 18, he said. “It was not the inspector’s fault that it took so long…to arraign the defendant,” said the lawyer, as he argued that doubt had to be taken in favour of the defendant.

Vella told the court that the defence’s claims about a “five-year delay” were disingenuous, explaining that his statement did not take into account the victim’s delay in filing the report, the magisterial inquiry and other factors. 

The magistrate, after hearing the arguments on bail, rejected the request, citing a “serious risk of evidence being tampered with as the alleged victim was a minor, had not yet testified and because the defendant is a close relative of hers.”

The man was remanded in custody.

The court also upheld the prosecution’s request to prohibit the defendant from making any contact in any way with the alleged victim or her parents, irrespective of their family relationship. The man was also ordered not to discuss this case with any other member of his family.