A man was denied bail on Thursday after pleading not guilty to showing pornographic material to his partner’s minor daughters who shared their troubles on a support chat line.

The 47-year-old Żebbuġ resident was targeted by an arrest warrant following police investigations triggered by a report from Kellimni.com, the court was told during the suspect’s arraignment.

One of the girls, a 14-year-old, had opened up to social workers operating the 24/7 helpline, telling them about the troubles she and her younger sister were experiencing whenever they tried speaking to their mum about the abuse they claimed to be suffering at the hands of her partner.

That information was passed on to police who kickstarted investigations, tracking down the sisters through their IP address, explained prosecuting inspector Kylie Borg.

The elder girl and her 12-year-old sister described how the man, who had also fathered a son with their mother, would show them porn and also caressed the 14-year-old’s breasts over her clothes.

The man, whose name was banned from publication under court order so as to safeguard the identity of the minors, was arraigned under arrest and charged with defilement of the girls as well as subjecting them to acts of physical intimacy.

A request for bail was objected to on the grounds that the alleged victims and their mother were still to testify.

The accused’s lawyer, Mario Mifsud, noted that this was “an unfortunate case” and without going into the merits, the charges were “most serious”.

However, given that the alleged victims had already given their version and since their mother had a relationship with the accused who was also the father of her young son, it would be premature to remand the man in custody at this stage. 

The court could impose stringent bail conditions to ensure that he would not approach the victims, argued Mifsud, pointing out that the mother appeared to have no intention of breaking up with the accused. 

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Josette Demicoli, turned down the request for fear of the risk of tampering with evidence and upheld a request by the prosecution for a protection order in respect of the minors and their mother.

That order meant the man could in no way approach his alleged victims and his partner, not even through third parties or social media or any other means of communication. 

The situation with respect to his partner and the tweaking of the relative court order would be tackled as the case progressed before another magistrate.

The victims’ names were also banned in terms of law. 

Inspector Kylie Borg and AG lawyer Sean Gabriel Azzopardi prosecuted.