Two and a half years jail for defilement

A 23-year-old Libyan man has been jailed for two and a half years for defiling a teenage boy at an internet café earlier this year.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani found Haythem Musbah Elkhweldi guilty of defiling the Tunisian boy on the night of January 5.

The magistrate heard the boy explain that on the evening the incident happened he had asked his mother permission to go to an internet café to chat with friends. The café was close to the hotel where the boy was staying with his family. He went there at 10.30 p.m. and had to be home by midnight.

While he was at the café, a man went up to him and asked him to input the words "sex" and "teenager" into the search engine. He also touched his private parts and started asking him questions such as what was his name and how old he was. The boy did not give any answers and pushed the man away from him. Eventually, the man left and the boy's mother called him on his mobile phone to see why he was late.

The boy told his mother what had happened and, some time later, she turned up at the café with the police. The boy indicated the man, who was outside the café, to the police. He also recognised him in court as Mr Elkhweldi.

The magistrate also heard Mr Elkhweldi testify and deny molesting the boy. He explained that that evening he was drunk and went into the café to use the rest room. As he walked in he ruffled a boy's hair but was not even sure if that boy was the minor in question.

After evaluating the evidence of the case, the magistrate found Mr Elkhweldi guilty of the crimes and jailed him for two and a half years.

Police Inspectors Raymond Aquilina and Martin Sammut prosecuted.