‘TV shows more obscene than topless dancing’ - Court

Three club operators were today acquitted of running a brothel in Sliema after the court ruled that a private topless dance cannot be deemed as ‘immoral’.

Owner Paul Attard, 59, of St Julians, Andra Iaona Togoi and Gary Camilleri, the operators of Club Paradiso in Sliema, were found not guilty of running a brotherl and of using their premises for prostitution, after the prosecution failed to submit enough evidence.

Inspector Melvyn Camilleri told the court that during a routine check on 9 February 2013, he found a woman dancing topless during a private dance. The dancer told the police that her male client had removed her bra and hat since he had not acted ‘aggressively’, she continued dancing.

The court also heard that dancing topless was prohibited by he club, and that the dancer herself was aware of this rule.

In 2012, the accused was also charged with running a brothel after policemen had found a female dancing topless on the premises.

In her decree, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit noted that there was no definition as to what constitutes an immoral act, claiming that what was once immoral is acceptable in today’s society.

“Whereas the term prostitution can easily be defined, the term immoral acts cannot. What was immoral a few years ago may be considered perfectly acceptable by modern society.”

“Can a dancer dancing topless in a private room in front of one customer be interpreted to constitute an immoral act? The courts find more obscene and immoral material in more of the television programmes and films readily available and viewable, even to younger generations, that portray the female body in a more obscene way than the case under examination,” the Magistrate held.

“The fact that a dancer was caught topless in a private room dancing for a customer is not, in the court’s opinion, immoral."

The court said that the prosecution failed to prove that the club was used either solely or partly for the purposes of prostitution and consequently acquitted the accused of all charges.

Lawyer Gianella de Marco, Gianluca Caruana Curran and Shazoo Ghaznavi were defense counsel.