Two brothers were today acquitted of defiling a minor in Paceville on August, 25, 2004, but one of them was found guilty of committing lewd acts in public.

The brothers, one 20-years-old and the second 19-years-old, were found not guilty of defiling the foreign girl resident in Malta, then aged 16, after she testified that their sexual encounters were consensual.

The court presided by Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani ordered a ban on the names of the brothers and the girl so as to protect their identities.

The court heard how after clubbing and visiting various pubs the girl had met one of the brothers in Paceville. After having consensual sexual intercourse with him in an open garden accessible to the public, he left and went back to the bar where they had met, leaving her trailing behind.

After feeling used and angry at the way he had treated her, she met his brother told him what had happened earlier with his brother, flirted with him and then they proceeded to the bathroom where they had sexual intercourse.

Before handing down judgement the court said the demeanour of the girl's personality was beset with anger against her parents. This because she had been in boarding school since the age of eleven and would only see her parents every fourth month, or for two months in the summer.

The court said it was abundantly clear that the girl had had several previous sexual adventures with several youths in spite of her age.

It also noted that one of the brothers in his testimony had admitted to having sexual intercourse in the garden and found him guilty of committing lewd acts in public. He was conditionally discharged for 18 months.