Sports journalist's attacker found guilty of stalking, bodily harm

The man was handed a suspended sentence and told not approach the journalist for a period of a year

A man who, days after physically attacking a sports journalist, was caught photographing the same reporter at a football match, has been found guilty of stalking, amongst other offences.

45-year-old Francis Muscat from Pembroke was accused of grievously injuring Antvin Monseigneur on 23 September 2017 near the Luxol Grounds. He is also accused of causing Monseigneur to fear he would be physically attacked, harassing him, insulting him and relapsing.

During Muscat’s arraignment, prosecuting police inspector Nikolai Sant had told the court how Monseigneur had informed him that the accused had photographed him at work in the commentary box on Saturday 4 November last year, at Hamrun's Victor Tedesco Stadium.

In his detailed judgment on the case, Magistrate Joe Mifsud, himself a former sports journalist, gave an overview of the doctrines relating to the level of proof required for conviction and the evaluation of evidence.

On the charge of grievous bodily harm, the court observed that medical experts had established the injury as slight and so found Muscat guilty of causing slight injury. 

With regards to the charge of causing the journalist to fear violence would be used against him and that of stalking, the court observed how the man had behaved threateningly towards the Monseigneur on a number of occasions, on one of them telling his colleague to pass on the message that “this doesn’t stop here.” 

On the charge of uttering insults, the court noted that the time had come to increase the fines in such cases to make them an effective deterrent, noting that punishment for this offence ranged from “detention to a ridiculous maximum fine of €58.”

Muscat was cleared of the charge of recidivism, however, as no evidence supporting this charge had been brought.

In view of all this, the court handed the accused a sentence of six months imprisonment suspended for three years. Quoting the court of Criminal Appeal, the magistrate highlighted the fact that “the suspended sentence is not, as some think, a let-off or a slap on the wrist. Those condemned to a suspended sentence must, during its operative period…[be on their best behaviour], because the moment they commit another imprisonable offence during that period, the suspended punishment is also activated and they must start to serve it.”

A three year-protection order was issued and Muscat was also ordered not to approach Monseigneur for a year or lose a personal guarantee of €2,000.