Man put on ‘sex offenders register’, suspended jail term for indecent exposure

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli this morning ordered that a man she convicted for indecent exposure and masturbation in front 12 year-old girls, be placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Carmelo Darmanin, 55 of Zabbar was arrested from his garage in Xghajra - limits of Zabbar - in December 2003, after he allegedly dropped his pants and masturbated as a 12 year-old girl was walking to school.

The court heard how Darmanin masturbated with his garage door wide-open "in plain view" of the minor, who in turn told her parents who immediately filed a police report.

The girl had confirmed how the events unfolded when she walked to school as she testified via video-conferencing, and added that two other girl-friends of hers told her that the same man had done the same with them.

In his defence, Darmanin argued that he suffered from what he described as an "enlarged prostrate" and that he was not masturbating but "squeezing" his genitals because he found difficulty in urinating.

The court found that Darmanin's testimony was not credible, given that he had a toilet close-by.

On handing judgment, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli explained that she had inherited the case from another magistrate, and the case led to a delay in judgment which has been pending since July 2011.