A 59-year-old man with the mental age of a child has been placed on probation for three years after being found guilty of defiling a 14-year-old boy who also has a disability. 

The man was also convicted of participating in sexual acts with the teenager but was cleared of raping the boy as the court found no evidence of penetration. He was also cleared of illegally arresting the boy and of holding him against his will. 

The boy's name cannot be published by order of the court. 

The case took place on December 13, 2013, when the accused met his victim at a bakery in Qormi where the youngster had gone to buy sweets. He lured his victim to his farm in Ta' Farsina in Qormi where he told him he would show him his mare. 

The two went to the farm on the youth's bicycle and upon their arrival, the man shut the door, dropped his trousers and performed sexual acts. He urged his victim, who suffered from ADHD, to follow suit. He obeyed and the accused began fondling his private parts. 

Upon his return home, the boy told his mother about what had happened, a police report filed and the accused was arrested. 

The magistrate heard a court-appointed psychiatrist testify how the accused had a mental age of a child of between nine and 12 years. 

In a social inquiry report, the court heard how the man was picked upon because of his intellectual disability while he was being held under preventive custody at Mount Carmel Hospital. The probation officer said that an effective prison term would be detrimental to the man rather than beneficial. 

The magistrate upheld these recommendations and placed the man on probation for three years after finding him guilty of defiling the vulnerable boy and of participating in sexual acts with him. She also placed him under a one-year treatment order and appointed a clinical psychologist to monitor his progress. 

Police inspectors Sylvana Briffa and Joseph Agius prosecuted.