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AG appeals decision acquitting priest of rape
The Attorney General yesterday filed an appeal to the Magistrate’s Court over the decision to acquit Fr Godwin Scerri of rape charges following an error in the charge sheet.
20 August 2011, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
1 min read
The Attorney General has appealed the decision a week after he declared that a correction in the charge sheet could have compromised the case.
Two weeks ago, Scerri was convicted of molesting and abusing boys under his care. He was also accused of raping one of the boys, but he was acquitted due to a mistake in the charge sheet, which said that the rape took place in Marfa, when it actually took place in St Venera.
In reaction to mounting concerns as to how the mistake was allowed to take place and as to why the charge sheet was not corrected by the prosecution before the case came to an end, the AG had said that a change in the charge should could have “demolished the whole case.”
According to l-orizzont, the AG yesterday raised doubts over the Magistrate’s decision and asked the Appeal’s Court to reconsider it. He said that details such as location should not determine whether a person is guilty or not.
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
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It stands to reason that if there is sufficient proof that a criminal act is committed, the place where it is actually committed is immaterial and almost irrelevant. This is especially true if the act involves sexual abuse on children - in this case rape. The Magistrate who made the asinine decision that the location where the crime was committed is even more relevant than the actual act itself - well he should be given a load of carrots to chew for breakfast.
