A father and son were today found not guilty of having held a young woman against her will when they allegedly locked the door of their home and removed the key, trapping her inside during a violent argument.

Anthony Degabriele, 60, and his son Clint,30, were accused of having illegally arrested the woman when she went to their home with her year-old daughter, fathered by the co-accused, Clint Degabriele. 

The two were also charged with having caused the victim to fear violence. Her former partner alone was charged with having harassed her in the months preceding the incident.

The case took place in  June 2013 when the woman went to the home of her in-laws in Marsascala so that they might see their granddaughter. Once inside, an argument allegedly broke out between the woman and the parents of her former partner.

As the dispute escalated, the front door was slammed shut and the key was removed, while her former partner allegedly warned her that if she were to call her father he would stab him with his penknife.

The terrified woman rushed upstairs and sought refuge in the washroom, only venturing out when her mother drove up following her call for help.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Neville Camilleri, observed that there were various inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses produced by the prosecution, including that of the victim and her alleged aggressors.

On the basis of the evidence put forward, the court declared that the charges brought against the accused had not been sufficiently proved and therefore acquitted both men.