Jailed for talking to girl he is accused of raping

A 61-year-old man was jailed for three months for speaking to a 16-year-old girl he is charged with raping when she was just 10, thereby breaching his bail conditions.

The girl testified that, last month, Mario Azzopardi spoke to her twice and told her that when she was younger she was cute but now she was sexy. He later sent a message through a third person saying if she changed her statement to the police he would pay her.

Mr Azzopardi, who goes by the nickname Is-Sufu, admitted to talking to her. He said he also spoke to the girl’s uncle.

The girl’s uncle testified Mr Azzopardi told him he had better look out for her because she was prostituting herself for €50. The uncle’s reply was that if that were the case, it was thanks to the accused.

In the judgment handed down yesterday, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said she did not agree with the defence counsel who tried to downplay the incident.