Man charged with assaulting partner and her three children

A 19-year-old man who allegedly punched his partner’s 18 month-old son in the face and assaulted her and her daughters, aged 6 and 4, has been remanded in custody in a case of domestic abuse.

Siggiewi resident Luke Galea, 19, was arraigned before Magistrate Elaine Rizzo on Monday, charged with slightly injuring his partner with an improvised weapon, and with slightly injuring her two daughters, aged four and six, as well as her 18-month-old son in each other’s presence.

Galea was accused of attacking the woman and her children on September 22, before carrying out a second assault on the boy the next day, in which Galea allegedly attacked and slightly injured the infant, whilst also threatening the mother.

The defendant was further accused of failing to inform the authorities of a change in his registered address.

The court was asked to issue protection orders for the victims.

Galea, who told the court that he had “recently stopped working,” pleaded not guilty.

Police Inspector Audrey Micallef, told the court that on September 24 this year, the police had received a report from a mother of three children who alleged that, two days before then, she had been involved in an argument with her partner, the defendant, who is not the children’s father.

The argument escalated to the point where the defendant allegedly whipped the woman with a phone cable, before beating her with an umbrella and a rolling pin, causing injuries to her back and shoulder. The woman also told the police that Galea had assaulted her three children on that date.

The couple had reconciled on the day after that assault and the woman had allowed him to return to her home and continue living with her, said the inspector. But the violence soon resumed with the woman telling the police that Galea had “punched her one and a half year old son in the face”. One child was found to have three wounds to his forehead.

Inspector Micallef told the court that, at the time she filed the report, the woman had visible injuries. Child Protection Services (CPS) had also spoken to the children and were told that the defendant had whipped their mother with a phone charging cable and thrown plates at her.

The children also told CPS that the man was living in their home. CPS had also sent for the defendant and questioned him.

A warrant for Galea’s arrest was issued and he was taken into custody. The inspector said he was registered as residing at an address in Qormi, but during his interrogation he told the police that he hadn’t lived at that address for three years and had been living in Siggiewi.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono asked the inspector whether the woman had subsequently gone to the police station to withdraw her report, but Inspector Micallef replied that there was no subsequent report or update to that effect, as the woman had missed her appointment at the police station later that evening.

The defence did not contest the validity of the arrest, which the court proceeded to declare valid.

Debono informed the court that bail was not being requested at this stage.

The defence requested a ban on the publication of the names of the defendant and the alleged victims. Inspector Micallef objected to the request to prevent the publication of the name of the defendant, who had only been in a relationship with the victims’ mother for less than a year, but agreed with the request insofar as the children were concerned.

The Court upheld the request for a media ban, but only with respect to the names of the victims.

Lawyers Jurgen Dalli and Cynthia Tomasuolo from the Office of the Attorney General assisted police inspector Audrey Micallef.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb were defence counsel.