Man charged with raping women at three massage parlours, in dramatic arraignment

A man has been remanded in custody accused of the rape of three women at different massage parlours, in an eventful arraignment.

Harona Conateh, a 32-year-old Gambian man residing at Qormi appeared in court before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech on Tuesday, charged with three counts of rape, against three different victims, at three different massage parlours in Sliema and Birkirkara.

Sources close to the investigation say that Conateh had tied up one of his victims before raping her at the massage parlour where she worked. 

Police patrols had been instructed to be on the lookout for the suspect, whose appearance they had arrived at through informants and CCTV footage, which all showed the same individual in the area where the alleged rapes took place. He was finally spotted by a patrol in Qormi Road, Hamrun and taken into custody.

The police subsequently searched the man’s residence and found the outfits seen on the CCTV footage. 

But before the arraignment could even begin, Conateh lashed out at a policeman who had been guarding him in the corridor outside the courtroom as soon as the officer removed the man’s handcuffs, speeding off down the corridor. 

The man only managed to travel a few metres before he was tackled by police officers and restrained, but continued to shout and struggle with officers, even after being handcuffed, causing such a commotion that the magistrate herself left the courtroom to see what was happening for herself.

Conateh was eventually brought under control and was restrained by hand and ankle cuffs. In view of his behaviour, the court ordered that the defendant must remain in handcuffs when inside the courtroom.

Before he was escorted into the courtroom, some minutes later, the legal aid lawyer appointed to assist Conateh, Ilona Schembri, informed the court that her client was asking to be returned to Gambia. “Of course. You can tell him I’ll even drive him there myself,” the court shot back, before pointing out that, having only a 'permesso di soggiorno' as his identification document, the man was not even eligible for bail.

The shenanigans continued when the arraignment finally got underway. Conateh told the court that he was 20 years old, but the prosecution pointed out that his date of birth, according to his documentation, was February 2,1992 - making him 32 years of age.
Through an interpreter, the defendant said this was not the correct date and that the date was “a mistake”, but that he was unable to change his passport. 

Conateh was unable to state his date of birth when asked by the court. Neither could he recall his birth month.

“Look here. You can’t tell me that you don’t know the month when you were born,” said the magistrate. “Didn’t your family ever tell you?” 
“My family is in Gambia” replied the witness, before suggesting the court call his family on his phone and ask them.

The magistrate ordered the prosecution to unseal his mobile phone, which had been seized as evidence, and have the man call his family immediately, but he demurred, saying he did not remember the device password. 

An interpreter explained that the defendant was refusing to unlock his mobile phone in the presence of the police, citing privacy concerns. The man relented and told the police his access code, after the court explained to him that it would appoint an expert to “brute force” the password.

It was noted that according to his Facebook account he was 16 years old, and had listed his date of birth as 2008. The court ordered that the man’s age be taken as that stated on his passport for now.

The examination in chief finally proceeded, with the man telling the court that he “works in the road construction industry for Polidano.” 

After ascertaining that the defendant understood what he was being accused of, the court asked what he was pleading to the charges. 
“He said he did not do it and there is one where he paid money but that he did not do it.” replied the Gambian-language interpreter, unintelligibly.

“Is he pleading guilty or not guilty?” roared the magistrate, her patience having reached its end. 
A plea of not guilty was entered by the defence lawyer. Bail was not requested.

“I want to go back to my country,” Conateh then told the court. The court, its composure now restored, asked the interpreters to “explain to the gentleman that before he can return to Gambia, he has to face these proceedings in Malta.” 

The magistrate explained that evidence would first have to be heard. “It is a process that takes time, yes. It is a case that will be decided at a trial by jury.”

Conateh told the court that he had paid money, “but only for a massage.” The prosecution at that juncture, assured the court that there was overwhelming evidence to show, as the court later put it, that “he wanted and got much more than a massage.” 

He asked the court to help him “so that the prosecution or whatever can forgive him,” the interpreter explained. His lawyer asked the court to record that statement.

The interpreter was called to the stand and asked to repeat what he had just said for the record. “He said he was not guilty. Then he said that he wanted to ask the court to help him so that they can forgive him.”

“For what?” asked the magistrate. “The accusations levied against him,” came back the reply. “His pictures are there,” said the interpreter, referring to CCTV footage of the assaults.

The case remitted the acts of the case to the registrar of courts in order to be assigned to a magistrate for compilation of evidence. 

Outside the courtroom after the sitting, the man was heard asking the police officers escorting him to send him to Gambia and asked to phone his wife. 

The police will be deciding whether to press further charges in connection with today’s attempt to escape.

Prosecutors Angele Vella and Nicholas De Gaetano from the Office of the Attorney General, assisted police inspectors Clayton Camilleri, Brian Xuereb and Wayne Buhagiar.