Two to be charged with possession of child pornography

A man and a woman have been served with summons to appear in court on pornography charges, the police said.

The charges have been filed in the registry of the Magistrates' Court and the cases have been assigned to Magistrate Antonio Mizzi and Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani-Grima.

Sources said the man, a prominent figure in the pro-European Union lobby, was arrested after the police found child pornography in a raid on his Hamrun house.

Maltese law distinguishes between pornography and child pornography.

The hoarding of pornographic material is an offence only if kept "for gain, or for distribution, or for display in a public place or in a place accessible to the public", while the possession of child pornography is illegal under any circumstances.

But both charges carry the same punishment of a maximum six months in jail and a Lm200 fine.

Police investigations are continuing and the sources said such investigations extended beyond Malta's shores.