Court confirms six-year jail term for man convicted of rape on first date

A man who was sentenced to six years imprisonment for raping a woman he met on a blind date has had his punishment confirmed on appeal.

The case dates back to August 2019 when 27-year old Tyson Grech went to a wine bar with the victim after the two had met on social media.

The then-19 year old woman later told police how that evening they ordered wine and after drinking one glass she declined more since she was not accustomed to drink.

But her companion insisted and she ended up having two more glasses.

They left the bar and walked to his car, but from then on, she had no other recollections.

The following morning she woke up in unfamiliar surroundings, finding herself in her underwear, an ache in her private parts and Grech lying next to her on the bed.

In spite of her repeated refusal, he forced her to have sex, doing so twice and later gave her a ride home.

At first she did not intend to report the matter to the police but after speaking to her mother and officers from Appoġġ, she changed her mind.

Grech was eventually charged with rape, non-consensual sex, holding the woman against her will and breaching bail, as well as recidivism.

In 2021, he was found guilty of rape and breach of bail by a Magistrates’ Court and condemned to a six-year effective jail term and fined €2200. A further €2800 in bail money was also to be confiscated.

Grech appealed on several grounds, including his claim that there were inconsistencies in the victim’s version.

When delivering judgment on Thursday the Court of Criminal Appeal, presided by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri, concluded that although there were certain inconsistencies, that did not mean that the victim’s version was untrue.

The woman was scared and did not at first plan to file a report.

Even when testifying, she appeared reluctant to divulge certain details.

However her attitude was composed and fearful, sometimes bursting into tears.

On the other hand, Grech came across as “arrogant,” seemingly proud to have had sex with the victim “three times.”

The judge concluded that any inconsistencies in the woman's version were not so substantial as to make the court doubt what she said.

Even if she had consented to sex in the evening, that did not mean that she did so the following morning, when she repeatedly told Grech, “no, I don’t want.”

The appellant produced footage at appeal stage which he claimed to have retrieved from the “cloud.”

But that video appeared to show a sexual session in the dark and even if it was meant to prove that the victim had consented first time round, that did not mean that she consented next morning.

Besides, the figures in that footage were not identifiable, the court said.

Nor did the appellant prove that his mother was at the flat at the time of the alleged rape.

As for the punishment, the judge concluded that it tended towards the minimum in terms of law.

The appeal was rejected and the punishment confirmed together with the ban on publications of the victim’s name.

Inspector Eman Hayman prosecuted.