Man denied bail after being charged with raping his pregnant partner, threatening her with screwdriver

A man was denied bail after allegedly raping his partner and threatening her with a screwdriver.

The man, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, was arraigned on Sunday morning following a police report filed by his girlfriend, who also cannot be named due to the same orders.

He pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including rape, holding his partner against her will as well as slighly injuring her and committing non-consensual sexual acts.

Inspector Omar Zammit informed the Court that the alleged victim, who is five months pregnant with the man’s child, had filed a police report on Friday alleging that her partner locked her up in his apartment, assaulted her and threatened her with a screwdriver.

She furthermore alleged that she had been raped on three separate occasions in June.

The man also filed a police report alleging that he had been assaulted by his partner, with a medical certificate stating that he suffered slight injuries.

Although the couple had briefly broken up, they rekindled their relationship a few months later.

The defence requested bail and that the names of the accused and alleged victim be banned from publication. Whilst the prosecution did not object to the latter request, an objection was raised in relation to the request for bail.

Whereas the defence cited that the accused has a clean criminal record as well as a fixed address and regular job, the prosecution noted that the victim was yet to testify.

The request for bail was ultimately rejected. It was noted that precautions had to be taken owing to the alleged victim’s pregnancy and that a domestic violence risk assessment deemed the victim to be at high risk.

Attorney General lawyer Jurgen Dalli and Inspector Omar Zammit prosecuted.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Adreana Zammit appeared for the defence.