A man has been sentenced to four years imprisonment for an attempted rape in Paceville two years ago.

Ahmed Rasem Franka, 30, Tripoli-born and residing in Msida, was found guilty of attempted rape, of violent indecent assault and of having slightly injured his victim.

He was also found guilty of having held the woman against her will and of having committed an offence against public decency or morals.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech heard how on January 11, 2015, the woman had been on a night out with friends when, after drinking beer and vodka together with an energy drink, she had felt unwell and shortly before 5am decided to take a taxi back home.

Out on the street, someone had attacked her from behind and forced her to go down to the rocky beach a short distance away.

Later, the woman could not clearly recall how she had found herself on the rocks with the accused trying to have sex with her. She suspected her drink might have been spiked.

Passers-by had heard the victim's frantic cries for help and alerted the police who were soon on the scene. They found the victim in a partial state of undress. The woman had her underpants down to her knees and her breasts were partly uncovered, the court was told.

Police officers who had been there testified that the accused was seen trying to cover his genitals as soon he sensed the police presence.

Forensic tests proved that the woman had suffered a recent bruise on the neck "compatible to a grip" and other bruises on her chin and forearm. There were also bruises on her breasts compatible to love bites.

Taking the witness stand, the accused had insisted that he had met the woman at a bar and after spending hours dancing and talking on a terrace, she had invited him to have sex on the beach.

"She wanted that," he insisted, explaining how she had opened his belt.

The accused had also claimed that the public had mistaken the woman's singing for screams for help, although he could not explain the slight injuries found on her body.

The court concluded that the evidence left no doubt "of the accused's illicit intention and volition to perpetrate the hideous crime of rape".

Although the woman had been drinking and had reportedly flirted with the accused, she evidently did not intend to have sex with him, the court said.

The court remarked that the victim was "conscious enough to resist and repel the advances" but the accused had refused to take no for an answer. Were it not for the timely assistance of passers-by and the police, the accused would have persisted with his advances.

The court declared the man guilty and condemned him to a jail term of four years. It also issued a Protection Order valid for three years in favour of the victim.

Inspector Elton Taliana prosecuted.