A 70-year-old man who was hosting English language students at his home was on Thursday charged with sexually harassing two French girls.

Mario Farrugia, from Birkirkara, pleaded not guilty to committing a non-consensual sexual act on the two students and subjecting them to unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature.

Before Magistrate Noel Bartolo, police Inspector Joseph Busuttil told the court that the girls filed a report at the police station claiming that the man had grabbed their bottoms on two separate occasions.

The girls had been living with the defendant for around five days, in the two-bedroom apartment where he lived with his wife.

The two girls testified via video conferencing with one claiming that the pensioner had touched her as she was making her way to her room. She described how the incident made her feel scared since she had only been living there since her arrival five days previously.

The second girl told the court that he had done the same thing to her a few days earlier. They discussed the incident with their group leader who took them to the police station to file a report.

The language school where the girls were attending their English language lessons told the police that the host family had worked with the school for around two years and that no complaints or reports had been filed about them.

Farrugia was granted bail against a €500 deposit and a €4,500 personal guarantee. He was ordered to sign the bail book twice a week.

Inspectors Joseph Busuttil and Andrew Agius Bonello prosecuted, assisted by prosecutor Sean Azzopardi from the Attorney General’s office.

Lawyer Ishmael Psaila was defence counsel.