A 25-year-old man from Zejtun has been jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of violent indecent assault on a young Hungarian woman back in 2011.

Jurgen Zahra, had been charged with attempted rape and violent indecent assault, as well as with having held the woman against her will, causing her slight injuries while committing an offence which offended public morals.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia, heard how in the early hours of June 26, 2011 while the woman was walking  near the Regional Road tunnels, down the hill towards San Gwann, she was overtaken by a car driven by the accused.

The man, who at the time was allegedly under the influence of drink, drove slowly alongside her, pestering her and at one point grabbing her hand.

The terrified woman, after shrugging of her tormentor, ran away in the direction of the playground in Birkirkara Road hoping to take refuge there. In her panicked state and having lost her specs, she burst into tears and began to cry out for help.

Stopping his car a short distance ahead, Mr Zahra managed to creep up upon the woman, placing a hand across her mouth to stifle her cries and avoid unwanted attention from any passersby.

Having dealt his victim several blows to her head in order to force her into submission, the man removed her trousers and was struggling to remove her underwear when she finally succeeded in breaking free.

The court heard how four foreign nationals who happened to be walking past, heard the woman's frantic cries and, upon spotting the assailant, began to scream at him to let her go.

It was only then that Mr Zahra gave up on his victim, ran to his car and sped off, but not before the passers by had managed to take down his number plate and alerted the police.

The court declared that the accused could not be found guilty of attempted rape since his intention had been frustrated before he managed to make intimate contact with his victim, a fact required by law for the attempt to subsist.

However, the accused was found guilty of the violent indecent assault and all the other charges filed against him and was handed an 18 month prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay a fine of €1,150 and made to bear all court expenses amounting to a further €1,644.