Valletta man charged with defiling 15-year-old youth

A 50-year-old unemployed man from Valletta was today remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to harassing and defiling a 15-year-old girl in Strait Street yesterday evening.

Gesu Maria Nappa Licari, known as Jesmond, was also charged with violent indecent assault, of holding the girl against her will, and of committing the crime during the operative period of a suspended sentence.

The accused is father to a 25-year-old woman, a 17-year-old boy, and a two-year-old girl.

The incident occurred yesterday evening between 9pm and 11pm when allegedly, the accused, Jesmond Nappa Licari, was trying to buy cigarettes from a bar in Strait Street, Valletta. It is understood that after experiencing difficulties while trying to purchase the cigarettes, the accused called for the girl’s assistance.

The victim – who works as a waitress at the bar - then leaned over the cigarette machine to try and retrieve the accused’s money. It was at this moment that the accused allegedly started touching, kissing, hugging, and groping the 15-year-old girl.

The incident was captured on the bar’s CCTV footage.

Prosecuting inspector Daryl Borg told the court that after the alleged harassment, the girl went to the Valletta police station, and lodged a police report. Police subsequently went to the bar and apprehended the accused.

In submissions for bail, Lawyer Alessandro Lia, who appeared as legal aid, insisted that his client is presumed to be innocent, and in light of the several cases involving alleged abuse – the most recent involving a Gozitan priest and a MUSEUM catechist – “such cases have become a recurring theme.”

Questioning whether such allegations were being done capriciously, the lawyer insisted that his client cannot be sent to jail on account of the girl’s allegations.

“The accusations are only allegations by a 15-year-old girl. It is true that one has to shoulder his responsibility for such offences, but such cases have not become a recurring theme. We reached a point where these allegations are being fired for nothing.”

“The case may be misunderstood and sensationalised. My client categorically denies the accusations. It is not fair to remand a man in custody simply because of a 15-year-old girl’s allegations – the same girl who was working in a bar at night,” he said.

While rejecting the defence’s plea for bail on account of the possibility of the “accused tampering the girl’s testimony,” Magistrate Gabriella Vella also rejected the defence’s plea to ban the name of the accused.

“My client is still presumed innocent, and the accused’s name and reputation may be tarnished. Who will ratify and remedy the situation if he is acquitted of the charges?” the defence held.

Notwithstanding the defence’s plea, the court upheld the prosecution’s objections, and held that there is “valid reason” for the accused’ name to be published. 

Inspector Daryl Borg prosecuted while Lawyer Alessandro Lia was legal aid.