Man performs sex acts with young girl he met on internet
A 31-year-old man indecently assaulted a girl of 12 after striking up an internet chat with her and arranging to meet her on a date.
Renald Pisani was handed down a suspended jail term after admitting to defiling the girl and participating in sexual acts with her.
The internet chatting took place in December and before.
Mr Pisani's arraignment was over in a matter of minutes.
Police inspector Louise Calleja and defence lawyer Jose' Herrera approached the magistrate and discussed the case in privacy at her bench.
Returning to their positions, Magistrate Edwina Grima promptly passed judgment and jailed the man for two years suspended for four.
Dr Herrera asked for a ban on publication of his client's name but the court turned down the request.
34 Comments
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Joseph Schembri
Feb 13th 2009, 17:12
I agree that a person of 12, regardless of outwards experiences, is still a child as regards maturity. But I still don't agree that a child should not shoulder some responsibility for her/ his actions. It is unfair to put all blame on one party. Meanwhile I urge all parents to monitor internet use. If they do not know anything about the internet they should learn or else refuse internet use to 'minors'! Let's not shrug off all responsibility.
Meanwhile I reiterate my claim that age of consent in Malta should go from the ridiculously high age of 18 (highest in Europe) to at least 16. Young people should learn how to shoulder responsibility for their actions. We are living in a schizophrenic society where in many European countries it is considered abusive to discipline a minor. But then if a 25 year old man has sex with a 17 year old woman he is labeled for life a paedophile.
Kenneth Cassar
Feb 12th 2009, 15:08
@ Joseph Schembri and Joseph Briffa:
It is precisely because young children do not fully understand the danger they could face from paedophiles that many of them post provocative photos on Hi5. They are minors and no matter how provocative, they are never to blame.
I, on the otherhand, could spend weeks browsing Hi5 pages (I actually don't), but I would never ask a child to meet me, not even if "provoked".
Stop blaming the victim.
jcmicallef
Feb 12th 2009, 15:06
This may not be directly related to the case, but it is something that really buggers be (or perhaps, perplexes me).
Year after year we hear about increasing number of minors minors and girls still in thier school uniforms getting pregnant - surely these are not miracles, so, do the 'fathers' ever get arraigned?
What happens when her mate is also under 18?
Chris Grillo
Feb 12th 2009, 14:45
While I agree with most people that this act is deplorable, we must put into perspective some thoughts.
1.The guy is a total idiot.
2.The girl was lying when she entered the chat rooms. In most (nearly all) cases, the license agreement informs one that he/she has to be at least 14 before using the software.
3.My twelve year old daughter, I am sure, has more sense than I had when I was twelve...I think she still does ... children these days are so much more precocious.
4.The guy must have noticed that the girl was so young, and should have refused to go out with her at all.
When are we going to learn? Just look at the HI5 , MSN and Facebook of some 12 year olds...you will be surprised.
Pamela Hansen
Feb 12th 2009, 12:21
Oh Lolita. Not that we have any evidence (in this report) that this child behaved in a manner beyond her years. However, no matter how promiscious minors can be, it is still the adult's responsibilty to act correctly. It is appalling that this man was let off so lightly. Of course parents have a responsibility to keep a close eye on their daughters, but the courts need to be more aware of the dangers facing today's children and act accordingly.
James De Giorgio
Feb 12th 2009, 12:14
Joseph Portelli's comment perplexes me. What is he playing at? Is he by any way justifying what has happened? Lowering the age of consent to 16 will only make abusing a twelve year old look less harmful and serious. Do you really agree that legally it's ok to imitate Sicily in lowering our consent age to FOURTEEN?? They would still be in form three for God's sake, should that become acceptable? They would still have two years to go, they're learning algebra and prepositions and you're justifying their already having sex by legal consent?
I'm sorry but while my statement is purely personal, I have to say that people who reason that way are damaging to our society.
chris borg
Feb 12th 2009, 12:05
agree with most ppl here....visit hi5 , facebook or tagged,,,,full of maltese girls pretend to be over 16/18.....pics in all positions.....let alone MSN chats.......although its called pedofelia some girls act so provocative whislt on internet chat
Joseph Schembri
Feb 12th 2009, 11:57
All the arguments below point to one problem with Maltese law - our age of consent is way too high at 18 years. It is the highest in Europe and only equal to the age in some nearby Moslem non democratic states.
In Malta while it is quite lawful for a 16 year old to marry a 60 year old and produce babies it is considered corruption of minors (+defilement + statuary rape) if they have intercourse. When are we going to lower the Maltese age of consent to something more reasonable? The age of consent is 14 years in Sicily which is 60 miles away.
I for one would see it as reasonably reasonable if it were lowered to 16 years. If not, we will continue sending 19 year old men to prison for having sex with 17 year old females.
Pierre Portelli
Feb 12th 2009, 11:21
Whatever a minor does, acts or dresses is no excuse for the behaviour of an adult! A 12 year old does not have the rights or duties of adult citizens. Mr Renald Pisani was trusted as an adult citizen of Malta and given the right to vote for his government, he betrayed this trust by abusing of a 12 year old MINOR, being an adult means having the rationality of walking away from provocation & respecting the laws of the land. This child could not have tempted him if he walked away or i did not chat with her online! Don't try to excuse him...she was 12 years old even if sexually mature, precocious or provocative I doubt how anyone could mistake her for a 21 year old!
The solution's not to ban internet to minors either, excellent programs exist to monitor children surfing activities. But all these are no substitute for proper parenting and parental supervision.
Marc Ricard
Feb 12th 2009, 09:55
What a diabolical outcome. Whoever is responsible for this act should be jailed for what he did to that little girl. How disgraceful. And what about the parents, how are they coping with this? As for E.Attard comments about banning children from the internet.....Used properly the internet is an EDUCATION.
A Borg
Feb 12th 2009, 00:36
See for yourselves. Just take a look at hi5.com. Its full of young girls (and by young I don't mean 16 yr olds) showing photos of themselves in all positions and all types of clothing.
I don't like to generalize, but knowing how these things work, most children today convince their parents they need the internet for projects. While this is true, parents must also be informed of the dangers online. Nowadays, the internet has become more dangerous than the real life.
joseph briffa
Feb 11th 2009, 19:33
you still think that they are innocent then go on hi5 and see your own beloved underage daughters disgustingly showing off their bras and body's in the ages of 12/13/14 lets be more realistic here even it what the man did is something that he should have never done cos its disgusting but if she agreed to meet him means she knew and if the man acted like he is her age what did she do when she saw him run away?? !! or simply went for it cos she was as guilty as he was i agree still with what Mr Brian Fenech said one must know what realy happend before get down to blinding judgments
Alison Natalie Keeler
Feb 11th 2009, 18:27
Perhaps we should consider this without splitting hairs... he was an adult aged 31. She was a child aged 12. WIthout knowing the precise content of their internet chat, would it not be reasonable to assume that whatever was exchanged, when it came to meeting in person, his role as an adult should ensure her being treated appropriately and safely... Children should have the right to expect the adults around them to show them care and compassion at all times. Shouldn't they?
E. Attard
Feb 11th 2009, 15:05
Kids - should be banned from having internet !!!
Nowadays its impossible to keep kids away from the internet beacuse as soon as they are 5 or 6 they are given a computer (to be like all their friends) with the excuse that the internet is there to learn from it .... gone are the days of books and enclyopedia where all the information is taken from there. The kids of nowadays are all used to pressing a button and getting all the info they want whether it endangers thier life or not ! I have nothing against teaching kids to use the computer but having the internet is dangerous ! believe me there is no measure to protect your kid on the net .... and kids sometimes log on to chat rooms to attract their parents attention or just out of pure boredom ...
Brian Fenech
Feb 11th 2009, 14:12
@ Albert Spiteri, there is no error in my comment, I am not jumping into conclusions however what Im trying to say is that IN THIS CASE, and please stay with me here IN tHIS PARTICULAR case you and me don't know the full picture of what happened, therefor logically, unless the times states that it was the man who 'driven' her to perform such acts, I will put the blame in both of them, as I said previously.
@ Joseph Micallef, your recent comments are just stories from 'real events' that happened, which I understand, however, before you jump to conclusions of the 'stories' you have built in your head, IN THIS case, you don't have any evidence.
Furthermore be aware that what's so called 'innocent' 10 years ago, doesn't mean it's still the case to date, though I agree that there should be more education and to government investing in something fun such as 'theme park' to prevent children to get caught in this 'evil' hook, in any sense, and that will keep children 'children'.
Joseph Schembri
Feb 11th 2009, 10:31
@Peter van der Mark: You must have never been a child yourself. Or maybe you lived in a rose tinted bubble. I cannot give URLs here because it would be unkind but PLEASE before you go on about innocent children take a look at the hi5 network - it is very popular with Maltese minors. After you've spent an hour or two looking at Maltese innocents, then you have the right to comment.
Parents should know what their children are up to and one way of doing this is to check their facebook, myspace or hi5 profile and look at the pictures, comments and friends that they have! Let's not leave everything n the hands of 'experts' and take up our parental responsibilities.
albert spiteri
Feb 11th 2009, 03:59
@ B. Fenech - Your error here stems from your insistence on certainty of placing guilty on the victim that is the underage girl. A 12 year old, is, legally, physically, emotionally, physiologically, psychologically and in all other ways, a minor, and very vulnerable to degenerate adults. Mr. Fenech, beware of certainty where none exists.
Michael Neville
Feb 10th 2009, 22:27
At least give us a picture of the person please so I can protect and advice our young girls against this person.
Peter van der Mark
Feb 10th 2009, 21:36
As a farther of a maltese baby girl of 18 months living in Malta, I am shocked that a modern democracy as Malta still lives in the dark ages when it comes to protecting its childeren from paedophiles. This is not the first time I notice this type of lenient sentencing in similar cases (or in rape cases as a matter of fact). How is a suspended sentence going to protect my daughter and other girls in this beautiful country from predators we all know are repeat offenders? The desperate lack of urgency to amend minimum sentencing guidelines, is worrying for anyone. However, most shocking are the comments made here by those holding a 12 year old girl (partly?) responsible. These and those involved in this case demonstrate an (almost total) lack of respect for children - children are per definition innocent and protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which I believe Malta also ratified. Any country interested in its future should do everything to protect its children as they represent that future.
Brian Fenech
Feb 10th 2009, 21:34
One last thing..... take a look at paceville for example! What tough laws are there against under age? Don't know whether it changed now, because I haven't been in Malta for a long time, but I remember that we used to go out after 11.30 pm because before that time, you will find 'under age children out there' drinking and acting like idiots! There should be 'harsh' laws against under 16's or whatever age by Maltese law that is 'unacceptable' This includes, tourists in summer (half of them are students under age!) and Maltese! They should enjoy life before getting to this stage AND MALTA SHOULD PROVIDE THEM WITH UNDER 16's activities and stuff to prevent them going to paceville, this should NOT include 'Youth centre's or Church activities' because they are boring for that age, but they should build premised OUT of paceville, like 'bowling arena or maybe a good idea, a THEME PARK! because, what is there in Malta for children to have fun!!!! School, church activities or a boring youth centre???
Joseph Micallef
Feb 10th 2009, 21:32
As I said Paedophiles use false profiles and the 12 year old girl most probably thought she was going to meet someone her own age and for her he was no stranger - he was a friend she talks to regularly! In such situations it is not enough to tell children not to talk to strangers. In such situations the child is not really at fault - the child is just a victim. That is why we are trying to make children aware of the dangers - while at the same time making it clear that the Internet is a useful tool.
A. Briffa
Feb 10th 2009, 21:29
@ Joseph Micallef
The girl can lie about her age as well. In this case - both are to be blamed.. including her parents.
Brian Fenech
Feb 10th 2009, 21:16
@Joseph Micallef, I am not saying that it's all the girl's fault of course, what the man did was disgusting and yes I understand as I do have children and I know what I'm talking about.
My comment was neutral in the sense that I am blaming both of them, 1. The girl should KNOW by the age of 12 NOT to approach or talk to any strangers.(My daughter is 4, and she already know not to talk to strangers!!) 2. The man is disgusting to use an innocent girl for his 'pleasures' and an idiot!
I do not agree with you to tell me that my words are harmful, as far as I know, I have not clapped my hands for the 'evil' acts that the man did, but I am using diplomacy to understand both situations!
And one last thing, well done for going round schools giving talks about internet safety..... it's really good job for what you're doing, but, if you notice in Malta there is not enough measures on this issue and people should be educated more. Just like over here in UK!
Regards,
B Fenech.
Brian Fenech
Joseph Micallef
Feb 10th 2009, 19:46
@Brian Fenech, Albert Briffa, Joseph Schembri: all of you don't know what you are talking about. Such paedophiles many times give false identities. They say they are the same age as the child for example - so that they child trusts them. That is why the Drama Unit's initiative - and that's why I go round schools giving talks about internet safety! We have to make aware our children that when you talk to strangers on the internet they are not always who you believe they are. Your comments were so insensitive and uncalled for in such a situation. It also shows that maybe you don't have any idea what internet chatting is all about or that you don't have children or you are being downright nasty. Putting the guilt on the child is the worst thing one can do - its like blaming the bullied person for being bullied! You just don't know what you are talking about and your words are harmful.
Pat Schembri Wismayer
Feb 10th 2009, 19:00
What about her parents for goodness sake?! This child is only 12! Barely out of Primary School. Why did she go and meet him when schools repeat ad nauseam that you MUST NEVER agree to meet someone you got to know over the internet. What time did they meet and where? If it was very late or unsuitable why did her parents let her go? Her parents bought that computer, paid for internet service, why didn't they supervise her? Yes, this man's actions are monstrous and he should be put away, but I think the girl had been neglected for a long time. Either that or her parents placed a trust in her she did not deserve. Anyway, this is vindication for the Face Safe Project - the danger is real. Parents be warned.
Brian Fenech
Feb 10th 2009, 18:25
@Albert Spiteri, she is responsible on various grounds: 1. She shouldn't have gone to meet him ( she knew what she was doing) 2. She shouldn't have been chatting with him (the times states that they have been chatting since December.
About the man, don't know whether to call him an idiot or evil, but what happened seems to me to be a joint effort!
Joseph Schembri
Feb 10th 2009, 17:31
Make children responsible for their actions too. Being 12 year old nowadays is no longer an excuse. A normal 12 year old girl is not an idiot and less than a century ago 14 year olds were getting married and making babies.
If the man knew that she was 12 what he did is wrong but let's not overdramatise - some 12 year olds are really precocious. Look at the social netowrking site hi5 and see what our Maltese 12 year olds are up to nowadays. If you are not partial to seediness and sleaze turn to Freud or if psychology is not your forte turn to fiction and read the famous novel by Vladimir Nabakov.
Children are sexual creatures even at the age of 4 years. Read the literature before condemning what I am saying!
albert spiteri
Feb 10th 2009, 15:35
@A. Briffa - It is the adults responsibility to control his pedophilic criminal nature. A 12-year old girl is not a responsible person.
A. Briffa
Feb 10th 2009, 13:46
what was the 12 yr old girl chatting with him for anyway? First she accepts, the reports?
What the accused did is really harmful, but the girl also accepted to meet him on a date.
M Grech
Feb 10th 2009, 13:13
Our erstwhile judiciary and our equally honourable legal profession should be lauded for their sensitivity in this case. This is the way forward for this God forsaken country. This is the way to set an example to others. This is the best way to gain the respect of the population.
Jeremy J Camilleri
Feb 10th 2009, 12:51
I think complaining about suspended sentences is a waste of time
!
YTou can get 6 months in prison for possesing marijuana, or shooting a protected bird( I m Still against hunting )and yet a suspended jail term is punishement for raping a child...
Beats me!!!!!!!
Joseph Micallef
Feb 10th 2009, 11:53
This is such a bad example after attending so many times the Face Space project by the Drama Unit - aimed at making the students aware of the dangers of using the Internet, especially chat! We insisted that such people are sent to jail. How wrong we were!
Carmelo Aquilina
Feb 10th 2009, 11:37
What is going on ? The man should have been remanded to have a psychiatric assessment to gauge the risk he poses to other children and then impose safeguards as part of his sentence. His suspended jail sentence does nothing to protect other children. The Attorney General should revise sentencing guidelines as a matter or urgency before one of these people offend again. Most will do so and it is hard to catch them because of the great senese of shame that victims only report cases many years later.
It is no excuse in 2008 to plead that we did not know any better !
Phil Pryce
Feb 10th 2009, 10:37
A suspended jail term? Are you serious? What kind of message does this send out to the world about Malta?