A jobless man with no fixed residence was remanded in custody on Tuesday afternoon after pleading not guilty to sexually harassing an 11-year-old boy on Sunday evening.
But the sitting ended on an unusual note when the accused refused to sign the protection order binding him to stay away from the alleged victim.
The incident allegedly took place between 6 and 8 pm at Misraħ is-Summit in Birżebbuġa when the suspect, Jar Annabi Mohammad Abdallah, a 21-year-old Sudanese national, touched the minor’s bottom.
Details about the incident were scarce when the suspect was charged this afternoon, his loud complaints reaching the courtroom even before the man himself had made an appearance.
Assisted by an Arab-speaking interpreter the man spoke loudly in his native language, seemingly in protest, gesturing with his hands as his interpreter and lawyer signalled to him to stop.
Wearing a Manchester United top, camouflage-patterned bermudas and trainers, the man fell silent as the hearing got underway.
But his occasional outbursts persisted, his voice loud and clear.
“If he continues in this manner, he’s in for trouble,” warned presiding Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo as the interpreter promptly translated the warning to the accused.
The man pleaded not guilty to committing a non-consensual sexual act against the minor who was a vulnerable person in terms of law.
He was also charged with offending public morals or decency, harassing the boy by subjecting him to an act of physical intimacy.
He was also allegedly drunk in public.
The accused pleaded not guilty.
His lawyer did not request bail.
The prosecution requested the court to issue a protection order in respect of the minor and his family relatives. The request was upheld.
But when a member of the magistrate’s staff approached the accused with the written protection order for him to sign, according to standard procedure, the accused simply refused.
Hands on hips, he stood next to the interpreter, stubbornly refusing.
“He’s rather difficult,” explained the interpreter.
Faced with that attitude, prosecuting Inspector John Spiteri minuted that although the accused had been placed under a protection order, he chose not to sign it even though it was translated to him by the court-appointed interpreter.
The court stated that such an order was issued ‘ex lege’ (in terms of law) and it was recorded in the acts of the case whether the accused signed or not.
AG lawyer Jennifer Polidano together with Inspectors John Spiteri and Andrew Agius Bonello prosecuted.