Girl, 12, accused of assaulting facilitator

A 12-year-old girl was yesterday charged with threatening and assaulting a facilitator by allegedly ramming her with a desk at a Cospicua school on Tuesday.

The girl pleaded not guilty to threatening, assaulting and slightly injuring the facilitator, Nicoletta DeBrincat, at Erin Serracino Inglott school at about 11 a.m. The girl, whose name is not being published because she is a minor, was arraigned under arrest but her lawyer contested the validity of her state of arrest.

Lawyers Josè Herrera and Roberto Montalto argued that, after taking the girl into custody on Tuesday, the prosecution had released her on police bail and told her to go to court to be arraigned, which she did.

They argued that the girl had abided by the bail conditions and, therefore, her arraignment under arrest was not justified. After hearing submissions on this point, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ruled that the girl's arrest was not justified and ordered her release from the state of arrest.

She also ordered that the case be heard by the Juvenile Court. Police Inspector Anthony Cassar prosecuted.