A 21-year-old woman charged with having sex with a 16-year-old lesbian schoolgirl was acquitted after both withdrew their initial account of their relationship and said they had just kissed.
The case came to light last October when the teenager bullied classmates and threatened them that if they did anything to her she would get her ex-girlfriend to stab them with a penknife.
The older girl, who is not being named to protect the minor, would collect the teenager from school every day in full view of the classmates.
The mother of one of the bullied students spoke to the headmistress who, in turn, called the police.
Police Sergeant Ramon Mifsud, who went to the school to find out who was collecting the minor, testified that the accused was very forthcoming and admitted she was waiting for her girlfriend.
She also said she was having a sexual relationship with the minor. In the presence of the headmistress, the schoolgirl also spoke of a sexual relationship.
The accused also said that the girl’s parents knew about their relationship and her mother allowed them in the house together.
However, in her police statement, the accused said her relationship with the girl was purely platonic.
The minor said in court she and the accused were close friends and had kissed once or twice. She felt very comfortable with her and would talk to her about everyday problems.
The girl’s mother said that while initially she was uncomfortable with her daughter’s choices, she had come to accept the fact she was a lesbian. She would have preferred her daughter to be with someone she knew rather than running around late at night.
The mother denied ever knowing that the two had a sexual relationship and said that they had always acted appropriately in her presence.
Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said that the evidence brought against the accused was not enough to convict her of sexual abuse, especially since it resulted that they had just kissed.
The court believed they were friends and so acquitted the accused of all charges.