Man who filmed viral video of sexual acts at Luqa bar granted bail
Accused charged with filming and disseminating sexual acts without the consent of the involved parties in a video that had gone viral in the past days
A 35-year-old man has been granted bail after allegedly filming and disseminating sexual acts without the consent of the involved parties in a video that had gone viral in the past days.
On Monday, the court heard that Mark Cachia Zammit had allegedly filmed and disseminated videos of a sexual nature without the consent of the participants during a night out in a Luqa Boċċi Club.
The prosecution stated that police had been informed of the viral video which prompted an investigation. Court heard that police had spoken to a number of people who were present in the Boċċi Club, and had identified the accused from his voice.
Court also heard that Cachia Zammit had allegedly admitted his involvement to police in a statement, saying that he had deeply regretted his actions, and had called one of the victims in order to check if he was ok.
The defence entered a plea of not guilty on legal grounds, stating that the people who were having sex could see that they were being filmed and seemed to enjoy the attention. Therefore, defence counsel Jason Azzopardi said, this was not a case of people being filmed without authorisation, nor was there intent to harm.
The defence requested bail while the prosecution objected to the request due to the fact that police had not spoken to all the parties that were present during the act.
The court accepted the defence’s request for bail, on the condition that the accused does not go near the Luqa Boċċi Club and does not approach any of the victims or witnesses.
Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta were defence counsel, while Inspector Paul Camilleri and Inspector Kurt Farrugia prosecuted.