Hibernians FC terminates Justin Haber contract after guilty verdict in sexual harassment case

Hibernians FC have terminated the contract of goalkeeper Justin Haber after he was found guilty of sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl on Thursday.

“This is to confirm that the agreement between the club and player Justin Haber has been terminated,” the club said in a Facebook post.

Haber had joined the club, which plays in the YoHealth Malta Premier league, on a free transfer last August.

Haber was handed down a suspended sentence by the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and placed on the sex offender’s register. His inclusion in the register bars him from being employed or involved in organisation that put him in contact with minors.

The offences occurred between 2020 and 2022. During this period, the 14-year-old victim was employed as a waitress at the Pitch 16 establishment in Marsaxlokk, where Justin Haber was her employer.

Haber had been charged with subjecting a minor to acts or behaviour of a sexual nature that included verbal expressions, gestures or physical acts unwanted by the victim and which were considered offensive, humiliating, degrading, or intimidating towards her.

The victim claimed that Haber has slapped her on her buttocks, kissed her and requested nude photographs of her breasts, asking her about her virginity and inviting her to have sexual intercourse with him.

He denied the charges but the court believed the victim’s version and sentenced him to two years imprisonment suspended for four years. He was also fined €7,000 and a three-year restraining order was issued in favour of the victim. The court also ordered that Haber’s name be included in the Offenders Register.