An ordeal faced by a prison warder who was “spitefully” accused of sexually abusing two underage inmates, raping one of them, at the juvenile prison in 2018 has finally come to an end after a court of appeal confirmed his acquittal.

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera threw out an appeal filed by the Attorney General, who was insisting on a conviction, after ruling that the case had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt and that there were several aspects of the investigation and prosecution that pointed towards a made-up story.

Joseph Zammit was charged in November 2022 with sexually abusing and raping the then-15-year-old minor, an inmate at the female division in the youth section of the Corradino Correctional Facility.

The girl had first told a fellow inmate about the warder’s unwelcome advances and sexually loaded comments. Her claims led to an internal inquiry against the then-52-year-old father whose career at the prison facility spanned 23 years. The inquiry was never concluded after the police took over the investigation.

He was subsequently charged with a raft of offences including sexual activity with the minor, harassing the minor and her friend, seeking sexual favours, and engaging in acts of sexual intimacy, which offences he was duty bound to prevent.

He pleaded not guilty upon arraignment and protested his innocence ever since, testifying in the proceedings rather than opt for silence.

The girl had claimed that Zammit used to comment about her figure while she was showering and described how she had oral sex with him some six or seven times. She also supplied details about the rape, which she claimed took place inside a washroom.

Her friend also insisted that the accused would comment about her breasts and turn up while she was showering. She mentioned a foreign inmate at the youth section who allegedly had a soft spot for Zammit who used to tell the teen that he was divorced.

However, the accused’s colleagues testified that Zammit was an “exemplary” man, assigned to carry out maintenance jobs at the youth section.

Madam Justice Scerri Herrera noted inconsistencies in the versions given by the two victims and that the place where the alleged incidents took place was covered by security cameras, but the prosecution had failed to present any footage as evidence.

One of those devices was mounted close to the washroom where the rape allegedly took place. Yet, the prosecution did not even seek to preserve that footage and produce it in evidence.

She agreed with the conclusions of the first court that the prosecution did not manage to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the minors were not credible.

The judge also observed how one of the minors, almost 16 years old, had threatened male officers that she would do to them like she had done to Zammit. This indicated that she knew that what she had alleged about Zammit was not true.

She therefore confirmed the acquittal. Lawyers Franco Debono and Herman Mula were defence counsel.