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3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS Paulina Dembska's body released Appeals Court acquits man convicted for sexually abusing eight-year-old autistic girl CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Abela said the decision came on the back of talks govern- ment had with civil society groups after the brutal mur- der of Paulina Dembska last month. Women's rights groups said Dembska's murder was femi- cide and called for the crime to be given specific recognition at law. The Justice Minister had said there was no need for a specif- ic provision for femicide in the Criminal Code since murder already carried the highest pun- ishment - life imprisonment. However, women's rights activists argued that making femicide a distinct crime would constitute a cultural shift in how crimes against women are viewed. The Opposition was also in favour of making femicide a distinct offence. Abela said more details would be given in the coming days. "We look forward for the par- liamentary process to start as quickly as possible," the Prime Minister said. Dembska's murder shocked the nation after her lifeless body was found lying in a pub- lic garden in Sliema. She was raped several times and stran- gled. Abner Aquilina, 20, has been charged with rape and murder. The compilation of evidence is ongoing and in the first sitting, a police inspector testified how Aquilina raped Dembska oral- ly, vaginally and anally. But the police caused a stir when in a press conference pri- or to Aquilina's arraignment said the murder was not linked to the victim's gender. Women's rights groups pounced on the statement, say- ing it showed the lack of sen- sitivity towards gender-based violence. Paulina Dembska's body re- leased, funeral to take place in Poland The body of Paulina Dembska, a 29-year-old Polish student who was brutally murdered at Sliema's Independence Garden on 2 January, has been released and her funeral will take place in Poland on Saturday. Abner Aquilina, 20, from Że- jtun has been charged with her rape and murder. The compi- lation of evidence against him is ongoing and he remains in custody. €20,000 has been raised to help Dembska's family with le- gal expenses, funeral and trans- portation costs. MATTHEW AGIUS A man's conviction for sexually abusing an autistic eight-year-old girl has been overturned by the Court of Criminal Ap- peal after it was noted there had been in- sufficient evidence to convict him in the first place. The 26-year-old man, whose name can- not be published due to a court order, had been sentenced to imprisonment for three years, last May. He had filed an ap- peal to the sentence. In his appeal, the defendant's lawyer, Michael Tanti Dougall argued that dur- ing the course of the compilation pro- ceedings against him, the alleged victim had not testified in court. Neither had she testified before the expert appointed by the inquiring magistrate. Police had started investigations after a report was filed by the Child Protection Services alleging the man had sexually abused the eight-year-old girl. As part of the magisterial inquiry in the case, a psychiatrist had been appointed by the court to examine the girl and com- pile a report on his findings. However, as the case was being heard, it emerged that the report had been compiled by a dif- ferent psychiatrist to that appointed by the magistrate. Neither did the psychia- trist testify to confirm the report, which he had effectively compiled without the court's authorisation, noted the judge. Madam Justice Edwina Grima ruled that the First Court could not adopt the report as its own as the court-appoint- ed expert could not delegate his work to third persons, noting that neither had he told the court how he carried out the task entrusted to him. The judge highlighted the fact that this report had greater importance to the prosecution's case because the girl had not taken the witness stand owing to the state of her mental health. But the pros- ecution had also failed to summon the girl to testify using video conferencing facilities, whilst being assisted by profes- sionals. The Court of Appeal went on to state that the only version of events as expe- rienced by the alleged victim, emerged from the testimony of social workers, who testified that the girl was on the au- tism spectrum and that this had limited her mental development and made her behaviour chaotic. She was incapable of normal social interactions due to her impulsivity, aggressiveness and over-fa- miliarity with persons who she is not ac- quainted with, noted the judge. The judge noted that the girl's Learn- ing Support Assistant had also testified, and had denied being told of the alleged abuse by the girl, whom she described as "hyper" and lacking an understanding of other persons' personal space. The accused's parents had also testified that the abuse could not have taken place at their home, as had been alleged, due to its small size and the absence of internal doors at the time, noted the court. In her decision on the case, the judge ruled that the court on its first instance had established guilt on the basis of ev- idence that could never have led to the level of confidence required to convict. The youth's statements to the police had been expunged from the proceed- ings, as it was ruled inadmissible. In her decision on the appeal, Madam Justice Grima concluded there was in- sufficient evidence supporting the girl's allegations, particularly in view of her mental health condition, which required a more profound examination of what she described and recounted. The man's conviction was overturned and he was acquitted. The Court of Criminal Appeal frees man after it finds there was insufficient evidence to convict him of sexually abusing an autistic girl