A woman who was found guilty of harassing her ex when she called him a “clown” (purċinell) while texting him asking for money to pay for their young daughter’s dental treatment, was cleared on appeal on Monday.

The couple had broken up some three years previously but the 26-year old mother, whose name is being withheld to safeguard the identity of the child, allegedly kept bombarding him with messages, asking for money whilst denying him access to their child, the man later testified.

He took offence when she called him purċinell and claimed that he was “somewhat retarded”  prompting him to report her to the police.

The woman ended up facing criminal charges for alleged misuse of electronic communications equipment and harassment concerning three separate instances between March 27 and April 5, 2020.

In October 2020, a Magistrate’s Court cleared her of the first charge but found her guilty of the second charge, binding her under a personal obligation to keep the peace with her ex.

The woman filed an appeal.

The court observed that trouble brewed over the estranged couple’s young child.

The woman claimed that her ex was escaping his duties as father, doing his best not to pay maintenance.

He could not even bother about his child but opted to post photos of “someone else’s children,” said the accused, explaining that she had called him purċinell when his new partner poked her nose in matters between them.

That term meant that he was not free to make his own decisions and act accordingly, the appellant explained.

At the time, her daughter needed dental treatment but since she had no job, she did not have the necessary funds to cover medical expenses.

She could not bear to see her child in pain nor photos of her ex with “someone else’s children” while he did not have any time for their daughter.

She stopped messaging him as soon as the police told her to, the woman said.

The alleged victim also testified, explaining how his ex had bombarded him with messages, forcing him to change his mobile number.

She persisted even though he blocked her numbers.

He claimed that he had stopped paying maintenance because she was denying him access to their daughter.

He did admit that his current partner had answered one of his ex’s messages.

The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri, analyzed the wording of the messages sent by the appellant and concluded that they did not amount to harassment.

If a mother has no job and her child needs immediate care, there is no harassment when she asks for money, observed the court.

The messages she sent were not words of harassment but the expression of a person asking for financial help so as not to see her daughter in pain, said the court, adding that the child had eventually received the necessary treatment in hospital free of charge.

The court upheld the mother’s appeal, clearing her of all criminal wrongdoing.

Lawyer Jason Grima assisted the appellant.