A man who pretended to voice a “demon” has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after he was found guilty of raping his girlfriend’s mother in 2018. 

The 22-year-old was also convicted of having forced a person to rape someone else, forcing them to engage in sexual acts, with the punishment increased because the victim was vulnerable. 

He was also convicted of having caused his victims to fear that violence will be used against them because of his course of conduct and threats of violence, such as warning them that he would cut their fingers. 

He was found guilty of engaging in sexual acts with his minor girlfriend, who was 14 years old at the time. He lived with her for almost nine months. 

He was, however, cleared of having held the woman's family hostage in its own home.

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera handed down judgment at the end of a five-day trial without a panel of jurors, at the defence’s request.

The judge observed that this was "a macabre case" that merited a magisterial inquiry that had not been requested by the police. Despite deficiencies in the prosecution, the court was still able to decide the case. 

The court said it did not believe that there were spirits in the house and that the accused was behind whatever was happening to the victims. 

The judge noted that the victims did not give their consent to any of the sexual abuse they were facing. She referred to the daughters' testimonies about the use of a broomstick, where they described how their mother was screaming with pain. 

She said the court could only rely on the evidence produced and noted inconsistencies in the statements released by the accused.  

The judge said she considered that he was still young when the crime was committed, was a first-time offender and always obeyed police rules, including while out on bail. On the other hand, the court considered the multitude of victims and the misery he brought on the entire family. 

She ordered him to pay almost €8,000 in court expenses and issued a protection order in favour of the victims. She also ordered that his name is listed in the sexual offenders' register. 

In their final remarks prior to sentencing, the prosecution demanded the maximum sentence for the man, who was 18 at the time he committed the crime and had taken advantage of an entire family, manipulating them just to satisfy his sexual fantasies.

Angele Vella from the Attorney General's office insisted that the evidence was clear and showed how the man had terrorised them by using what he claimed was the devil's voice.

Names have been banned from publication by court order.

The court earlier this week heard testimony from the mother and her two daughters who described episodes of sexual abuse, beatings and 'torture', including physical abuse involving a broomstick.

The former girlfriend testified how she was unable to leave her mother’s home, as the front door was locked and the keys were missing. The ‘voice’ then returned, commanding her to sleep there or else her grandparents would be killed.  

The 24-year-old said she, her mother and sister were ordered to clean the house, strip naked and shower together or perform sexual acts by the ‘voice’ which they initially attributed to “a spirit.”

The two sisters heard the sound of sharpening of knives outside their locked bedroom door on the first evening after the circuit breaker went off, pitching the house in darkness.

Witnesses told the court that the accused would pin the blame for the violence on a ‘demon’ who had supposedly entered the house. The accused opted not to testify.

Prosecutor Vella noted how one of the alleged victims testified that the abuse began when they all went to watch a horror film together. From then on, the accused took advantage of their terror, psychologically bullying and manipulating them and making them believe that there was the devil in their house, she said.

She heaped praise on the victims for having the courage to expose what had really happened. Their demeanour during their testimonies shows the trauma they had gone through, she said.

Vella said the victims, especially the mother, were mentally vulnerable and the psychological effect of the abuse sent the mother in and out of Mount Carmel Hospital.

The lawyer said the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, with evidence satisfying all the elements of the crimes of which he is accused.

"This case is so obscene, simply to satisfy his sexual fantasies, that he deserves to be found guilty and given the maximum prison term. The victims said he was smirking and looked entertained during the abuse. This is what this case all about. He manipulated them to satisfy his whims," she said.

On the other hand, defence lawyer Mario Mifsud asked the court to clear his client of all charges, in view of the deficiencies in the prosecution's case.

He argued that the entire case is built on sham allegations and that prosecutors failed to produce “a shred” of evidence proving any of the charges. Mifsud told the court were all a “total invention”. The defence sought to poke holes in the victim’s version, questioning why she had never recorded the alleged happenings, taken pictures of her injuries or urged her mother to seek help.

“We heard so many lies that we cannot even determine who is the bigger liar between the mother and the daughters,” Mario Mifsud insisted in his concluding remarks on the case.

As he poked holes in the prosecution's case, Mifsud said there were “serious doubts” about the testimonies of the alleged victims and that these doubts failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.

Mifsud insisted that there was “not a shred of scientific evidence” to prove the alleged rape and that the prosecution had failed to bring other evidence such as the bed sheets or a doctor's examination.

Broomsticks presented as evidence did not have a shred of DNA evidence to prove that they had been used or penetrated anyone's bodily cavity, he added.

“The accused is the victim of this satanic game that the women started and that got out of hand. There is no evidence of illegal arrest because all witnesses confirmed they could leave whenever they wanted. This is a serious deficiency in the case,” he said.

“The alleged victims concocted this entire story to shift the blame on my client. There is no scientific evidence that confirms any part of the story. And the doubt should go in favour of my client,” he said.

AG lawyer Francesco Refalo also prosecuted while lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic was parte civile.