A maintenance worker who is undergoing prosecution for allegedly harassing former TV host Karl Stagno Navarra, is back under arrest over a separate case of revenge porn. 

Jean Pierre Schembri, 47, from Żebbuġ, was out on bail over the harassment case when police tracked him down as the suspect behind a series of intimate photos shared on social media. 

Those pictures featured his ex-partner, the court was told on Thursday afternoon when Schembri was escorted back under arrest.

She had entrusted the defendant with the repairs of her mobile phone. But he allegedly copied intimate pictures stored on the device and then shared them with family members and third parties. 

He also allegedly set up fake profiles featuring compromising images of the victim. 

The online activity appeared to have momentarily ceased while the man was in preventive custody over the Stagno Navarra case. 

On Thursday, he was charged with a raft of offences linked to the unauthorised sharing of intimate photos of his ex, computer misuse, and repeated moral violence against the woman.

He was also charged with breaching bail, a previous protection order, insults and threats as well as recidivism. 

He was also charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, namely a knuckle duster. 

He pleaded not guilty, insisting the profiles were not his. 

A request for bail was objected to and subsequently turned down by the court, presided over by magistrate Abigail Critien, who remanded the defendant in custody.

The court banned the publication of the victim’s name.

AG lawyer Andreas Vella and Inspector Sherona Buhagiar prosecuted. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri were defence counsel. Lawyer Charles Mercieca appeared for the victim.