A man who stands accused of raping his girlfriend’s mother has chosen not to testify in his trial and will be exercising his right to silence, a court heard on Thursday. 

The 22-year-old is being accused of rape and violence by seeking to control his then minor girlfriend and her family, committing sexual abuse against her mother and her sister. 

The court earlier this week heard testimony from the mother and her two daughters who described episodes of sexual abuse, beatings and 'torture'. 

The court also saw a recording of the accused’s first interrogation by the police, in which he calmly blamed “the demon” for the acts of abuse and violence, and claimed that he too has suffered. 

The accused was expected to take the stand on Thursday morning, however, defence lawyer Mario Mifsud informed the court that the young man, sitting silently and expressionlessly behind him, had decided not to. 

The accused’s cousin was also summoned to court on Thursday and was asked about her relationship with the accused’s former girlfriend.

The former girlfriend, one of the victims of the accused, had previously testified that the accused’s cousin had threatened and pressured her to change her version of events after she went to the police. 

The cousin on Thursday denied ever discussing the case with her. 

She said she was initially wary when her cousin told her he had started dating the girl as she believed that the family “wasn’t right”. 

“So how did your cousin refer to the family?” Mifsud asked. 

“When he told me he was dating this girl and showed me her picture, honestly, I was stunned,” she said.

“Because every time I saw this family they were always doing strange things, always fighting, the mother and the daughter especially. Once I remember I even intervened, I told her ‘Is this how you treat your mother’. The things they did didn’t seem normal to me.” 

When asked if she had ever threatened or pressured the girl, the cousin replied, “no, never.” 

The cousin said that she and the accused had been raised together, each spending periods of their childhood living with their common grandparents. She had a normal relationship with the accused and would sometimes meet him and his girlfriend to socialise during the period in which they were dating. 

She sometimes met her by herself and they would go for a walk or meet up for a pizza. 

“So you met up with her despite the fact that you said you were afraid of her?” the prosecution prodded. 

“I wasn’t afraid of her, I pitied them and the way they behaved,”  the cousin replied.

“But given this, it never occurred to you not to meet her?” 

“I told my cousin that she wasn’t right for him but I continued to meet up with them so I could see him,” she said. 

“So you wanted to keep an eye on him?” 

“Well, not exactly. Whenever I saw them they seemed good together and I thought that she had changed during the time they stayed together,” the witness said. 

Closing arguments from the defence and the prosecution are expected to be heard on Friday. 

The case is being heard before madame justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera. The court has ruled that neither the names of the accused nor the victims are to be published. 

The prosecution is being led by lawyers Angele Vella and Francesco Refalo from the Office of the Attorney General.

Lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic is appearing on behalf of the victims.