10-year-old boy attacked Fra Diegu Home carer, court told

A court has heard how a 10-year-old boy had attacked a care worker from Dar Fra Diegu in Hamrun, during compilation proceedings against the woman. 

The woman is denying charges of slightly injuring two siblings under the home's care. 

Police Inspector Robert Vella explained to Magistrate Josette Demicoli how, on the 18 September last year, a woman had gone to the Hamrun police station to report that her children, aged 10 and 14, had called her from the home, telling her that they had been beaten by a carer because one of them threw a soft toy at the employee.

The phone call had been placed from another carer's mobile phone, which had been obtained by the children without her knowledge.

The mother told officers that she had called back on the number and had spoken to the carer, who confirmed that it was true that the accused had pushed one child and twisted the arm of another. When spoken to by the police, the carer had explained that the children had been misbehaving because the accused had tried to separate the children at bedtime.

Inspector Vella explained that one of the children had suffered slight injuries and blood had been detected in the male child's urine. Both carers and the children's mother were then questioned by police, the mother releasing a lengthy statement denying all the accusations made in her regard.

Under cross-examination, Vella confirmed that he had been aware of the internal inquiry held by the home, which concluded that no disciplinary action was merited.

The star witness was the second carer, who had been present for the alleged incident. She testified that the accused had wanted to separate the children, who being brother and sister, resisted this. The argument escalated quickly and the boy had started to insult the carer, who invited the child to “try and lay a finger on” her. The child threw a soft toy at her before charging at the woman.

The accused allegedly then pushed the boy onto a wardrobe, before grabbing his sister and twisting her arm, ignoring their cries of pain.

The police had responded and the second carer was ordered to take the children to the local health centre.

The court was told that, whilst both carers had been suspended pending the internal inquiry, the accused had subsequently been promoted, whilst the witness discovered that she had been switched to part-time employment without her knowledge. The second carer confirmed that the accused had hit the children.

The defence asked the inspector whether he was aware of any apology from the children for their behaviour. The inspector replied he had spoken to the mother and said that there had been none.

The second care worker also testified this afternoon, pointing out that the home's rules were “too strict”, recalling that she had received a warning from the management for giving a piece of bread to a child after 8pm on one occasion.

She recalled how the boy's behaviour had turned aggressive because he did not want to be separated from his sister. “The children were demonstrating very challenging behaviour but, in my opinion, that is why we are here. These children would have already gone through trauma at home and we have to be role models. If we challenge them we will only make things worse.”

She said the accused had tried to calm the children down, but her efforts had been in vain. “They became aggressive towards us. He was quite a strong boy. She (the accused) was trying to stop him from hitting me. I do not use force, maybe I’m too soft but that is my way.”

The witness said the boy was also becoming aggressive towards the other children. At this point, the accused had locked the boy out of the room, but this had only made things worse. The boy had vowed that he would get inside no matter what, the witness said, and the accused invited him to try.

True to his word, the boy successfully gained entry to the flat. Upon seeing this, the accused had threatened to call the police. “The boy’s rage only got worse. He started insulting her, calling her a prostitute and throwing soft toys at her. At one point he charged at her and she pushed him. The boy hit the TV unit.”

In the witness' opinion, the accused had been trying to calm the situation down. “She grabbed the girl and twisted her arm in an effort to subdue her.”

The court heard how, a few minutes later, the witness had found that the boy had taken her mobile phone and was calling his mother, telling her how he was beaten by a care worker.

Under cross-examination, the witness said she had not mentioned the beating in the logbook because she did not want to get the accused into trouble. Replying to questions by defence lawyer Johan Debono, the witness said it was true that she had been issued several warnings by the home, including one for ‘showing children pictures of herself in a bikini,’ but insisted the latter was a made up charge and that she had only spoken to a 19-year-old resident about clothes.

The case continues on 29 April.

Lawyer Johan Debono is defence counsel.