A youth who was threatened over secret sexual encounters with a teenager recounted in court how he was tied up with an electric wire and robbed of his cash.

It all began in 2018, when he first chatted online with Simon Leyton Rachid, then aged 17, agreeing to meet for sex against payment, the victim said, taking the witness stand against his alleged aggressor and three associates.

The youth, whose name was banned under court order, testified at the start of the compilation of evidence against the 20-year old Rachid, from St Venera, Theresa Agius, a 55-year-old supermarket worker also from St Venera, 20-year-old Kersten Camilleri, who is currently residing at the Corradino Correctional Facility and a single mother of three from Valletta whose name was also banned from publication to safeguard her minor children. 

“That same evening, he [Rachid] called me, asking me for more money,” said the victim, nervously recalling how every few days the teen would call, persistently asking for money.

“It became a regular occurrence. They either came to my workplace at the Sliema Ferries and later also to my house at San Ġwann,” he said, explaining how he sometimes paid €40 or €50 against threats that unless he did so, they would tell the police he had sex with a 17-year-old.

At the time of the incident, the age of consent had been lowered to 16 and the victim’s behaviour was not illegal. 

“They would pester me for money every three days or so. I was so desperate that at one point I contemplated suicide,” stuttered the witness, as the prosecuting officers constantly encouraged him to keep calm and speak slowly. 

Earlier in December, the two had agreed to meet for another sexual encounter at Rachid’s home.

But as the encounter got underway at a room at roof level, Rachid suddenly whipped out an electrical wire, tied the other man’s hands and made off with the jacket that the victim had removed a while before.

Asked by the prosecuting officer whether he had consented to be tied, the witness promptly replied, “No I did not".

He called out for help and struggled to free himself, finally running downstairs.

While talking to a female relative of Rachid outside her second-floor apartment, the suspect thief returned with the victim’s jacket in hand.

“Here it is,” he taunted, holding up the garment as the other man stood further up on the stairways.

“Bring it here,” ordered the alleged victim, explaining that his mobile phone and wallet containing €330 in cash were inside that jacket. 

When the jacket was handed over and its contents checked, the victim discovered that although his mobile was still intact, there was only €110 cash inside his wallet.

He headed straight to the Ħamrun police station to report the suspect theft and then got on with his errands which included a haircut at Mosta. 

That incident followed months of blackmailing and constant demands for money.

€150 monthly payments

After changing jobs during the COVID-19 outbreak, he tried to shake off his harassers but, after falling for a fake Facebook profile, he ended up once again at the mercy of their constant demand for money. 

He blocked their numbers but they still got through to him through a different number.

In March the suspects began to badger him for €150 monthly payments.

“I paid in cash every month since then,” said the victim, insisting that he did so because he feared that the accused would kick up trouble, either with his elderly father or at his workplace.

Although he handed over the cash regularly, he did so unwillingly, but his fear always induced him to pay, he explained.

He would hand over the money to Rachid or Camilleri, who were sometimes accompanied by one of the two accused women. 

The latest payment was due next week, once the victim received his monthly wage. He had agreed to hand over the money to the accused’s female relative who was to call on Friday for the usual €150.

A call from prison

The youth recalled how on the day of the alleged theft, he had received a call from prison.

Camilleri was at the other end, and when the alleged victim told him that he had filed a report about the theft, the caller allegedly urged “don’t name me”.

The witness was shown a piece of wire in court, and he confirmed that it was the one Rachid had used to tie him up that day. 

He also explained that the €220 he reported as stolen from his wallet covered the €150 monthly payment, while the remainder was payment for sex, as agreed to beforehand. 

As the witness’s version came to an end, lawyer Arthur Azzopardi contested that both Agius, as well as the unnamed mother, had no prima facie case to answer, arguing that the alleged victim had confirmed that the two had never demanded money.

It was the other two co-accused who had allegedly harassed the victim, argued Azzopardi, stressing that the two women should never have been criminally charged in the first place.

However, after hearing further submissions by the prosecution, the court, presided by magistrate Monica Vella, decreed that there was enough prima facie evidence for all four accused to stand trial.

Rachid and the two women had been granted bail upon arraignment last week, while the fourth co-accused remains in preventive custody. 

The case continues.

Inspectors Lydon Zammit, Stephen Gulia and Roderick Attard are prosecuting.

Lawyer Franco Debono is counsel to Rachid.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi is counsel to the two women.

Lawyer Mario Mifsud is counsel to Camilleri.