Man handed 12-year prison term for raping both his stepdaughters

A 55-year-old Gozitan man was handed a 12-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to raping and molesting his two minor step-daughters.

At the time of the assault, the girls were under 15 years of age.

On 9 April, the man accepted a plea bargain of 12 years imprisonment rather than facing a trial by jury.

The man was investigated after two friends of his daughter reported the accused, telling the police that the convicted man had raped their friend.

This prompted a police investigation. One of the stepdaughters told police she was raped by him on two separate instances. The girl explained how he began touching her while she was sitting on the sofa. She repeatedly told him to stop but he went on to rape her, while telling her to “shut up and stop screaming”.

She also recounted a second occasion, when he raped her while using her tablet. She told the police that after this, she returned to her room and cut her wrist with a knife.

His two step-daughters, who are 15 and 8 years old, also admitted to the man raping them in their mother’s house. The young girl told police how, in a state of terror, she had attempted to run away and hide but this was to no avail. As he raped her, the young girl was screaming in agony but he ignored her, covered her mouth and she lost conciousness as a result.

The man was also accused of raping his own daughter, however she later withdrew her report, and this was accepted by the court.

In light of this, Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras asked the defence counsel whether they would insist on a 12-year sentence. The defence agreed they would stick to this amount.

In light of his admission of the rape charges, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and was ordered to pay €1,022 in damages to the court.

The accused was assisted by lawyers Jose Herrera, Alex Scerri Herrera and Charlon Gouder.