Woman ‘lucky’ to avoid perjury charges after false Christmas Day report

A woman who falsely claimed her estranged husband held her against her will on Christmas Day has been warned by a court that she is "lucky" to avoid perjury charges because the offence is now time-barred.

Magistrate Lara Lanfranco cleared the 46-year-old man of all charges on Friday, concluding that CCTV footage directly contradicted his wife’s claims.

The incident occurred when the couple, who lived in the same house despite being estranged, argued over the woman’s plans to take their two children to Mass and her parents' home on Christmas Day.

The woman called the police, who showed up at the couple’s home. She then left the house with the children and later filed a police report claiming the man had locked the garage door and physically prevented her from leaving.

During the proceedings, contradictions were noted in the woman’s testimony. She initially told police the man had locked her in, but later admitted in court she had not seen him lock the garage door, but "assumed" it had been. When asked why she did not exit through the house’s front door, she gave conflicting accounts, claiming she "probably could" have but was afraid of the consequences.

The man denied the allegations, testifying that he had simply asked for the children to spend Christmas at home. He presented CCTV footage from the garage that showed the woman packing her car with the garage door wide open before the police arrived.

The court also addressed an issue concerning a decree issued the day before the incident. The decree, issued by a separate court, limited the man’s access to the children. While the woman suggested her husband was aware of the decree, the court found it had not yet been legally served to him at the time of the incident.

In her judgment, Magistrate Lanfranco noted that the woman’s version of events shifted and expanded during her testimony in a deliberate attempt to secure a conviction.

 “The court does not think this was a mistake, and this is because when she testified in the case, she added to her original version in a bid for the man to be found guilty,” Magistrate Lara Lanfranco said.  

She added that the woman should consider herself happy that charges relating to perjury and calumnious accusations in connection with the incident were, by the time of the court hearing, time-barred.

“Had that not been the case, the court would not have given it a second thought before ordering that the woman is investigated,” the court said.

Magistrate Lara Lanfranco presided.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri appeared for the man.