An 18-year-old man was yesterday placed under probation for three years for defiling his 11-year-old cousin when he himself was still a minor.
The man, who was 17 when the crime was committed on the afternoon of January 30 last year, admitted to defiling the girl and offending public morals.
Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani ordered a ban on the publication of both the teenager and the victim as is procedure in such sensitive cases.
The court heard that the incident took place in a field in Cospicua when he touched the girl.
The magistrate said what happened could be categorised by law as lewd acts, however, the incident had left a corrosive psychological effect on the girl.
The magistrate said she could not help but give weight to the fact that the accused was a minor when the incident occurred, he had a clean police record and admitted to the charges.
Apart from placing him under probation, the court issued a treatment order for 18 months on the teenager and ordered him to visit his psychologist at least once a month.
Lawyer Mark Busuttil was defence counsel.