Court speaks of attempt to buy girl's silence

The Criminal Court yesterday acknowledged that there appears to have been an attempt, also by lawyers, to bribe the family of a 14-year-old girl at the centre of sexual assault allegations into not pressing charges. In a judgment which imposed stricter bail conditions on four men from Nadur facing the charges, Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano said that "in this case it seems that there have been manoeuvres by people who had an interest to see that the case does not reach the courts.

It seems that, before the accused were charged in court, money changed hands in order for there to be a forfeiture of the prosecution (in respect of the accused bearing the Said surname)".

The Chief Justice heard the prosecuting officer and the victim's mother testify.

The statement, along with the request by the Attorney General to revoke bail last week, follows a story in The Sunday Times which revealed that the victim's family had been approached with a money offer.

Peter Paul Said and Josef Said stand charged with raping the girl, corrupting her and holding her against her will.

Mark Lorry Said and friend Peter Paul Debono were charged with corrupting her.

The four men were first charged on September 18 and bail was denied because the Magistrates' Court had said that it was a sensitive case especially since it had occurred in such a small community which is Gozo.

The Chief Justice specified that his remit in the hearing was not to rule whether the approach to the family, which even involved lawyers, was legal but to decide whether the first court was right to grant the accused house arrest.

However, when the compilation of evidence started on September 23, in front of a different magistrate, the victim was called to testify through video conferencing but could not complete her testimony because there was a problem with the equipment.

The magistrate had then granted the accused bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000 and a deposit of €1,500 each.

The Chief Justice said that it cannot be said that the Magistrates' Court in Gozo was manifestly incorrect in granting the men bail and placing them under house arrest.

However, the main problem was with the amount set in relation to the personal guarantees the accused had to make.

The court placed Mark Lorry Said and Pater Paul Debono under a personal guarantee of €9,000 each and the other two Said brothers were placed under personal guarantees of €23,000 each.