A 58-year-old man who was originally acquitted of raping his partner’s 18-year-old mentally retarded daughter and jailed 15 months for violent indecent assault had his jail term increased to four years after an Appeals Court ruled that rape had taken place.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia pointed out that the Magistrates' Court had acquitted the man the rape because there had not been full penetration.

However, full penetration was not necessary and even the slightest penetration was sufficient to prove rape.

The rape had taken place in February 2007 at the mother’s home in Cospicua.

The man had grabbed the girl by the arm and taken her to an upstairs bedroom before removing her clothes. He then had sex with her. H admitted to this in his police statement and the daughter gave the same version.

The judgment was handed down following an appeal by the man who requested that the jail term is lowered because he suffers from severe claustrophobia. A second appeal was filed by the Attorney General who requested that he should be found guilty of rape.

The judge said that claustrophobia was not reason enough to lower the jail term and that rape did actually occur.

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