TIME-BARRED: Police says nuns behind Gozo abuse cannot be charged

The police cannot charge nuns involved in the alleged abuse of children at Lourdes Home in Gozo, as the case is time barred.  

The nuns still operate freely within institutions owned by the Dominican sisters, despite the long list of serious allegations they face.  

In July 2022, victims of the abuse met with the Gozo Dioceses Safeguarding Commission, which led to a police report being filed. 

A couple of weeks later, the victims were called in for a meeting with police Inspector Kylie Borg. But despite the meeting, the police cannot take any legal action against those involved because too much time has passed. 

“Kindly note that no court action could be taken in connection with these allegations since when the police were made aware of such allegations, prosecution was already at that time, time-barred by prescription,” a police spokesperson told this newspaper. 

Sister Josephine Anne Sultana, Sister Carmelita Borg and Sister Dorothy Mizzi, the nuns behind the abuse, all occupy senior roles within the order.  

Sister Carmelita Borg is currently Mother Superior for the Dominican Sisters, Sister Josephine Anne Sultana lives at the Dominican convent known as Ta’ Pompei, which functions as an elderly home, and Sister Dorothy Mizzi resides at St Peter’s Convent situated in the heart of Lija. 

‘Nothing to say’  

MaltaToday reached out to the Ta’ Pompei convent for a comment from Sister Josephine Anne Sultana, but after the journalist identified himself, the nun receiving the call immediately hung up. 

Sister Dorothy Mizzi on the other hand picked up the phone, but said she “had nothing to say”, before proceeding to hang up the phone. 

Last week, when calling at the Sisters’ Generalate House in Tal-Virtu, where Borg currently resides, a nun who picked up the phone said she would not comment.  

Pressed further, she said it was “all a lie”. 

“Same old, same old. They have been repeating the same lie for years,” she said. “God bless you, and goodbye.” 

A lifetime of abuse  

The accounts given by abuse victims at the hands of nuns at the Lourdes Home orphanage has created shockwaves. Decades after being subjected to abuse as children, the victims remain traumatised in their adulthood.  

Denied justice for the majority of their life, the victims have now opened a constitutional case against the State for failing to safeguard their rights or care at the orphanage. 

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, victims Carmen Muscat and Roseanne Saliba, explained how the abuse happened at the hands of the nuns. 

The abuse ranged from sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy, physical beatings on children as young as five, to hurling of insults. 

At the time of the abuse, Sister Josephine Anne Sultana was tasked with caring for one of the orphanage’s wings where the children were being housed.  

She was described as a “dictator” by one of the victims who spoke to this newspaper. The nun patrolled the home’s halls handing out unrealistic chores to the young residents and punishing them in demeaning ways. 

Muscat recounted how the young children were forced to “eat their own vomit” as punishment. 

“I did not like to eat when I was a young girl, and I remember the food being so bad that I had to throw up. When I threw up, she would force me to put the vomit back onto the plate and eat it again,” she says. “It would happen weekly, and I sometimes threw up for four, five times, only to be forced to eat it again.” 

Carmen explained how before dinner time, she would pick an apron which had a pocket on the front, so that she could put a small plastic bag in it where she would secretly stash the vomit. “Obviously I would do it without her knowing, or else… I would get beaten again.” 

Sister Dorothy Mizzi was tasked with caring for another group of children housed in a separate wing at the orphanage. Mizzi also faces allegations of wrongdoing, with the victims explaining how she used similar disciplinary tactics like Sultana.  

“She also used to see Sister Josephine beating us, abusing us and harassing us, and not once did she speak up,” one of the victims said.  

Heading the orphanage at the time was Mother Superior Carmelita Borg. The victims accuse her of turning a blind eye to the abuse they suffered.