Man charged a fifth time for harassing ex-girlfriend

A stalker was yesterday arraigned for a fifth time for harassing his former girlfriend, after smashing the window of her car and trying to pull her out of it in Qormi last Saturday.

When she tried calling for help, he threw her mobile phone to the ground and broke it

Massimo Tivisini, 42, of Pietà, yesterday pleaded guilty to harassing the woman, making it the fifth time he has appeared in court over the same charge. He has already been given two suspended jail terms and spent two years in prison for the same crime.

The words of a police inspector uttered during one of the previous cases, that Mr Tivisini had an “obsession that might get out of hand”, seemed to have come true as details emerged of Saturday’s incident.

Mr Tivisini followed her in his car from her home and managed to stop her after driving dangerously and frightening her. He then broke the driver’s window and tried to pull her out of the car. The panicked woman attempted to call the police but he grabbed her phone and smashed it on the ground, police sources said.

In yesterday’s arraignment, he pleaded guilty to driving dangerously, damaging the car, breaking the phone, threatening her, assaulting her, threatening to use violence against her and harassing her. He also admitted to insulting her, breaching the peace, relapsing, committing a crime during the operative period of a suspended jail term and breaching the conditions of a probationary period.

During the sitting, which lasted only a few minutes, Magistrate Antonio Mizzi asked Police Inspector Sandra Zammit to exhibit the judgments regarding Mr Tivisini’s previous convictions in the next sitting scheduled for September, when judgment will be handed down.