Italian man, 69, accused of defiling minor insists acts were consensual

A 69-year-old Italian man, residing in St Paul’s Bay, was denied bail on Monday after being charged with defiling a 14-year-old girl in his garage last Saturday.

The accused’s legal aid lawyer, Benjamin Valencia, told the court that his client claimed that the sexual acts were consensual and that he had been told by the alleged victim that she was not a minor.

Valencia asked for bail, saying the accused was close to 70, had been residing in Malta for a long time and had a clean criminal record - alleviating fears of him absconding – and suffered from high blood pressure.

But magistrate Grazio Mercieca, presiding over the case, denied the accused bail to protect the alleged victim and to ensure that other witnesses are not approached to alter their testimony.

The man was charged with performing sexual acts on a minor, corrupting a minor, holding a person against their will and offending the morals of the alleged victim.

Valenzia contested the validity of the arrest because the accused – who does not speak Maltese or English – was only made aware of the charges against him after he had been placed under arrest, and not while he was being arrested.

Prosecuting Inspector Godwin Scerri argued that there was no question about the validity of the arrest and that the accused had been made aware of the charges against at the earliest possible moment.

The court ordered that the name of the accused and the victim be withheld from publication, in the interest of all parties, pending the conclusion of the case.