Teacher jailed for defilement

A teacher has been jailed for four years for defiling a 16-year-old student five years ago.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera found Alexander Giacomotto, 53, of St Paul's Bay guilty of defiling the teenage boy on and before October 2000.

The magistrate found that the argument brought forward by the defence - that the boy had invented the story because he was going to be expelled from school - was not credible.

The court heard the boy explain how on one occasion he and some student friends of his bought pizza from a take away and took it to Mr Giacomotto's house. Later that evening the teacher gave the other students a lift home but the 16-year-old went back home with him. He said the teacher showed him pornographic videos and asked him to commit an indecent act. He also said the teacher had given him money.

Mr Giacomotto categorically denied ever touching the boy. He said he had given the boy Lm40 to pay back a person the boy had stolen money from.

Faced with two conflicting versions the magistrate had to decide who was the credible witness. On analysing their evidence she ruled that the boy's version was more convincing as he was more consistent throughout the case.

She added that most of the version given by the boy had been corroborated.

The teacher had also corroborated parts of the boy's version except for the parts where he denied abusing him or giving him a preview of exam papers.

Every time the teacher testified he gave a somewhat different version and looked uneasy on the stand, she noted.