Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/331448
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 JUNE 2014 News 4 CHRIS MANGION THE 54-year old man who was recently acquitted of defiling a minor, yesterday filed a judicial letter demanding compensation for damages sustained following the false report made against him by the girl and her boyfriend, to- day her husband. He is seeking the damages from the couple. The girl was at the time in disa- greement with her family, who opposed her dating her boyfriend, and in a fit of pique she went on to file a report alleging that her mother's partner had sexually abused her. The girl claimed the abuse hap- pened in 2006, when she lived with her mother at St Paul 's Bay and in Rabat, with her partner. At the same time that the minor filed her report, the minor's boyfriend called at Agenzija Appogg, claim- ing that her mother's partner was hitting her. A day later, he dropped his claims but the allegations were still investigated. The minor told investigators that she had been sexually abused by her mother's partner since the age of nine. She said the man had passed lewd comments, touched her and made her touch him in- decently. She also said he made her work at a bakery and would hit her if she did not help him. On the same day, her mother filed the same claim against the minor's boyfriend. Magistrate Audrey Demicoli decided that the allegations were the girl 's revenge on her mother and her partner for opposing her relationship. On 30 May this year, Magistrate Demicoli ruled that the accused 's version was more credible than that of the alleged victim and acquitted the man. In his judicial letter, the man claimed that the allegation led to loss of business after his clients stopped going to his shop when they learnt about the court pro- ceedings. He closed the shop and found employment elsewhere, but his employers learnt about the claims and he was fired. He is still unemployed. Moreover he had to endure eight years of futile court proceedings based on a false report. Law yers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili signed the judicial let- ter. SAMUEL Schembri, 46, of Zebbug, George Debono, 38, of Qormi, and Brian Baguley, 31, of Mosta, were cleared of charges of theft and tak- ing the law into their hands, after a court ruled their case was time barred. The three were employees of Carmelo Spiteri Ltd. In 2008, their salaries were not paid and the men chased their boss to settle, to no avail. After Spiteri ceased communi- cating with the three, the accused called at his yard and made off with a pick-up truck containing tools. They unloaded the tools in a garage and left the van in a parking area in Zejtun. The tools were shared among them. On 29 August, 2011, another two employees noticed that the van was missing from the yard and informed their boss, who filed a police report. CCTV footage of the yard showed the three accused, identified by their former employer. The three were arrested and released a state- ment admitting the theft. The van and the majority of the tools were returned to Spiteri. Samuel Schembri, George Debono and Brian Baguley were charged with aggravated theft, handling sto- len property and trespassing. Debo- no was also charged with breaching bail conditions and Baguley was charged with relapsing. During the proceedings, their former employer confirmed there were outstanding payments for sala- ries. He also informed the court that he forgave the three men. While confirming their guilt, the accused explained that they did not take the tools for the sake of steal- ing but in lieu of the salaries owed to them. Magistrate Doreen Clarke ruled that the men had no intention of stealing. "This is a case where the accused took the law into their own hands ('ragion fattasi'), believing it was the only way that justice could be served. It is not actual theft", the magistrate said. During the sitting of 4 November, 2013, the prosecution asked for a correction in the charges, which was upheld. However the court decreed that the charge of ragion fattasi had a time bar of two years, which had by then expired. Magistrate Clarke acquitted the three men, saying that their charge was time barred. Inspectors Michael Mallia and Sil- vana Zrinzo Azzopardi prosecuted, lawyers Edward Gatt and David Camilleri were defence counsel. Man acquitted of defiling minor seeks compensation PROJECTS MANAGER (EU FUNDS) Three acquitted of taking the law into their own hands