10 years’ jail for raping 3 daughters
A father who gave his three adolescent daughters alcohol before raping them repeatedly over a period of several years was yesterday jailed for 10 years after admitting the charges instead of standing trial by jury.
The 44-year-old man from Cospicua was facing a maximum prison term of 30 years.
The rapes went on for a number of years not specified in the bill of indictment and ended in 2010.
They started when the man asked his eldest daughter, who was only 12 at the time, to accompany him to an electronics shop with the excuse of possibly buying a Playstation or sound system.
But instead of taking her to the shop, they went to a bar where he bought her alcohol before taking her to a room in a field and raping her.
The rape of the other two daughters followed the same pattern, the Attorney General said in the bill of indictment. The repeated rape of the man’s first daughter only stopped when she told him she thought she was carrying his child.
His second daughter was also 12 when he started the abuse and 15 when he stopped, raping her once or twice a month for three years.
His third daughter was just 11 when he started. He raped her even as she was recovering from a stomach operation. She too was violated repeatedly until 2010.
The man individually swore the girls to secrecy on the life of a loved one, which left them believing they were the only one being raped, the court heard. The truth was finally exposed when two of them shared the secret and then went to their older sister, confirming that he had raped all three of them.
In court yesterday, the man also admitted to defiling them in their mother’s car by undressing them and touching them intimately.
The man is not being named to protect the identity of the girls.
In jailing the man for 10 years, Mr Justice Michael Mallia took into consideration the plea bargain that was reached between defence lawyers Anġlu Farrugia and Michael Sciriha and the Attorney General’s Office.
The man was placed on the sex offender’s register and a protection order has been issued on the girls, preventing him from coming into contact when he leaves prison.
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24 Comments
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david debattista
Oct 17th 2012, 11:39
If it was not for my children I would leave the island ! Disgusting and how .
C Scicluna
Oct 16th 2012, 16:02
Disgusting!!!
Chris Ciantar
Oct 16th 2012, 15:16
Prison is for those who seeks redemption after having attempted a crime.This 'man' certainly did'nt feel any guilt after doing what he did to his first victim repeatedly and kept doing it without remorse.I would'nt give him the slightest chance of doing it again& it's exactly what the judiciary system is doing.This disgusting animal should suffer the same fate, a life sentence of pain he inflicted
S.M. Cuschieri
Oct 16th 2012, 14:49
For christ sake! Whats wrong with this god forsaken country?That gozitan guy got ten years for a couple of plants for his own use and this low life gets ten years for wrecking three young girls' lives!! Oh how very cute...A mother myself, I felt physically sick. I would give him a sentence thats not eligible for parole and would throw in the lethal injection for good measures! May he rot in hell!!
Charlene Bonnici
Oct 16th 2012, 18:17
agreed
Peter Murray
Oct 16th 2012, 14:07
and when he gets out in just a few short years time still his name wont be on the sexual offenders register -nor inexplicably any other sexual offenders for that matter
Felicity Cassar
Oct 16th 2012, 13:47
How is that considered serving justice? How will 10 years imprisonment give the girls security and closure? The Maltese judiciary system is pathetic and weak, typical for a third world country. Maybe someone couldn't resist a bribe. By the way, beware, there is a sex offender's list ....so scary.
Steve Attard
Oct 16th 2012, 12:55
10 years!!!! same as the guy who had a cannabis plant !! What a joke. Poor girls.
S. Camilleri
Oct 16th 2012, 12:44
In any functioning society this man would have been locked up for good ... with no possibility of parole. Ever!! As things stand, this beast will be around us with 6-8 years max!!!
M Gatt
Oct 16th 2012, 12:39
I can't even imagine how these victims will feel when they see him after he serves this ridiculous sentence. Such a disgusting human being isn't fit to be anywhere near the general public. A life sentence or death penalty wouldn't provide justice to those poor kids let alone a 10 year sentence! The maltese judiciary system is such a disgrace!
Alan Cordina
Oct 16th 2012, 12:24
10 years !!!??? which works out at around 6.5 years and that's it !!??? ....... kultant nahseb li Franco Debono ghandu ragun !
Charles Muscat
Oct 16th 2012, 12:22
Stealing e2.300 from a jewellery shop gets 6 years in a week, and this raping 3 of his own daughters gets 10 years. This is where justice in Malta gone mad.
Vanessa Borg
Oct 16th 2012, 11:42
At least its better than 10 years but in this case its more appropiate to give him life in prison. He didn't kill the children but he killed their innocence and their sense of security. The worst part is that he continued with his acts even when one of his children was recovering from hospital. I assume that she was already in pain from her recovery she needed comfort and instead .............
Pamela Hansen
Oct 16th 2012, 11:25
I fully agree with Gerry Cowie and Isabella Vella. And why are we not told what the plea bargaining consisted of?
Ten years certainly does not seem to justify this terrible crime. How much will he actually serve behind bars?
V. Cauchi
Oct 16th 2012, 11:08
Plea bargaining? Under which law? Is it allowed to anyone, any case? Is it just a convention? Was it done with good intent to avoid exposing the girls to public trial? Is it the Court's function to rubber-stamp decisions reached elsewhere? Were jurors informed not to appear? Given available options (choice between magistrates/criminal court, in camera dealing etc) does concept of trial still hold?
Matthew Cefai
Oct 16th 2012, 10:35
....facing a maximum prison term of 30 years. What happened then?
M Cachia
Oct 16th 2012, 13:09
He plead guilty. This probably forced the hand of the judiciary as pleading guilty reduced the maximum term you can be sentenced. The law needs to change in my opinion as it makes the judiciary look like incompetents when they probably agree with giving the accused more hefty sentences.
Steve Schembri
Oct 16th 2012, 10:25
It is already bad raping a total stranger but raping your own blood and flesh...how low can this man get? As for the sentence giving...is it such a wonder that people who have gone through such an ordeal decide not to talk and suffer in silence? Justice is not doing much justice.
Gerry Cowie
Oct 16th 2012, 10:15
Amazing! When Star the dog was killed there were hundreds of comments from animal lovers, full of venom and listing all the things they would like to see happen to the person responsible. Where are all those commenters now when there is such a terrible story as this one involving human beings? Shame on all those who keep quiet at this time! Clearly for many animals are indeed more important!
isabella vella
Oct 16th 2012, 11:00
basta all animal lovers.... and they protest.... where are they now???!! why are they not protesting today!!!
are they not daughters themselves... and maybe even mothers??!!!!!
i did protest for the animal cruelty.. but we should organise a walk .... a silent march ... also for these three young girls... they surely deserve it more than the dog!!!!!
shame on the ruthless sentence......
Adrian Cardona
Oct 16th 2012, 12:11
Did you bother reading the article yesterday when it was first published? Did you see the 177 comments all expressing outrage?
Deirdre Farrugia
Oct 16th 2012, 13:01
Gerry, as Adrian Cardona has written, the article was in yesterday's paper, look for it, read the comments...
J Micallef
Oct 16th 2012, 16:28
@ Gerrie Cowie
Maybe, like myself, many readers were too shocked to comment. I don't have kids of my own, but I am terrified of thinking that any of my dear nieces and nephews could ever go though this.
Ian Mamo
Oct 16th 2012, 09:39
a protection order has been issued on the girls, preventing him from coming into contact when he leaves prison. - to Make sure this will not happen, i suggest you don't let him leave prison... Give him a proper punishment.
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