Man jailed for drunken sex attack in Gozo

A man has been jailed for three years and six months for committing a drunken sexual assault in Gozo, which stopped when a third party intervened.

Abdiqani Omar Abdillahi, 30, from Somalia, admitted his guilt on 7 August before the Court of Magistrates in Gozo, presided by Magistrate Joe Mifsud.

Police inspector Josef Gauci charged Abdillahi with committing a non-consensual act of a sexual nature on a Polish woman at around 1am in Triq il-Port, Marsalforn on 24 July.

He was also accused of offending decency and morals in a public place, causing the victim to be humiliated and degraded, slightly injuring her and a female friend of hers.

Other charges, relating to public intoxication and indecent exposure were also pressed. A protection order was sought for the two Polish women, in addition to the charges.

Abdillahi, who has no fixed address, pleaded guilty to the charges and said he was sorry for the incident, blaming the influence of alcohol. The magistrate declared that intoxication was not a defence before the Criminal Court. 

The court also heard how the accused had suffered serious injuries at the hands of unknown third parties as he was committing the violent assault.

Having heard the accused plead guilty to all the charges brought against him, the Court declared the accused guilty.

With regards to punishment the Court took into consideration the accused’s early admission of guilt, his conduct sheet, the nature of the offences of which he stands charged for, and the accused’s declaration that he is sorry for the incident and that what he did was done when he was under the influence of alcohol.

Abdillahi was sentenced to three years and 6 months’ imprisonment, and was bound not to molest the two women for a period of one year against a penalty of €1,000. He was also placed under a treatment order for alcohol addiction.