Rape charge error ' could have been corrected '

An error in the charges against one of the convicted sex abuse priests that led to his acquittal of rape could have been corrected, lawyers say.

Fr Francesco Scerri, 75, also known as Godwin, had been char-ged with raping a teenager at one of the homes in Marfa but when the victim testified it emerged the crime had actually happened at St Joseph Home in Sta Venera.

In his judgment on Tuesday, Magistrate Saviour Demicoli said he found the story of the rape victim credible.

Had Fr Scerri been found guilty of raping the boy, he faced imprisonment for up to nine years. However, he was found guilty of defiling two boys, including the rape victim, over a period of time and was sentenced for five years in jail.

Another priest, Charles Pulis, now defrocked, was sentenced for six years for defiling nine teenagers also over a period of time.

Both have appealed.

Three defence lawyers – Leonard Caruana, Franco Debono and Veronique Dalli – agreed the mistake could have been corrected right up to the point when the prosecution closed its case.

When questioned specifically about who was to blame for the error in the charge sheet, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said that “in view of the fact that the criminal proceedings in question are sub judice, any comments at this stage would be inappropriate”.

Questions to the police remained unanswered.