Arrest of man accused of sexually assaulting elderly landlady declared invalid
The 50-year-old man was accused of sexually assaulting the woman he was renting from
The arrest of a man accused of sexually assaulting an elderly woman was declared invalid by a court on Sunday morning.
Police inspector Clayton Camilleri explained that on Friday, a 65-year-old woman arrived at the Mosta police station at around 11pm to report that a 50-year-old Syrian man, who had recently moved into her house, pinned her to the sofa and rubbed his genitals against her.
The woman told police that the accused and another man had started renting two rooms from her four days earlier. She told police that the other man had made sexual advances to her over messages. The other man was not arrested.
She said that on the night of the alleged sexual assault, the man had asked to embrace her, and that when she refused, he pinned her to the sofa, pulled her trousers down and rubbed his genitals against her.
The police went to the woman’s residence and arrested the man at midnight.
The accused denied the allegations, explaining that he and the other man had been living at the residence for a brief time and had €50 outstanding rent to pay.
He alleged that the woman became angry whenever they asked to use the toilet or take showers after demanding they request permission from her.
The two men informed her that they wanted to leave the residence, and the woman allegedly told them they would first have to pay the outstanding money and threatened to file a police report.
Defence lawyers Jacob Magri and Matthew Xuereb contested the arrest, arguing that, as a general rule, an arrest should be carried out against a warrant. A different provision in the Criminal Code provides specific circumstances when an arrest does not require a warrant.
The defence observed that the woman alleged the assault happened at 9pm and that she filed a report two hours later, and that the police arrested the accused at midnight without a warrant. The defence argued that since hours had passed, a warrant was needed to arrest the man in this case.
The court upheld the defence’s argument: while acknowledging that the police were constrained due to time, they could not depart from the law and arrest the man without a warrant.
Magistrate Jean Paul Grech declared the arrest invalid.
In court, the man was accused of committing non-consensual sexual acts on the woman and subjecting her to physical intimacy.
He was further accused of detaining her against her will and causing her slight injuries.
He was also accused of sexually harassing her and misusing electronic equipment.
The man pleaded not guilty.
A ban on the names was issued by the court.
A protection order was issued in favour of the alleged victim.
Since the man is no longer under arrest, the court imposed a condition on him to sign weekly at the nearest police station.
Magistrate Jean Paul Grech presided.
AG lawyer Krista Spiteri Lucas prosecuted, alongside police inspector Clayton Camilleri.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Jacob Magri and Matthew Xuereb appeared for the accused.