A man has been fined €3,000 after being found guilty of harassing his ex-girlfriend who wanted to end the relationship when she discovered that he had been convicted of defrauding an elderly woman.
Edgar Bonnici Cachia, 64, from Birkirkara, was cleared of extortion, misusing communication equipment and of resorting to threatening behaviour but was found guilty of harassing the woman and of relapsing.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke heard how Mr Bonnici Cachia began dating a woman in February 2010, who he met on the Internet. Two months later, she discovered about his fraud conviction and wanted to end the relationship. This did not go down well with Mr Bonnici Cachia who began harassing her.
The woman told the court he would call her numerous times, send her emails and SMSs. Since he was pestering her, she changed her mobile number but Mr Bonnici Cachia managed to get hold of it and continued calling her. It was only in July 2010 that the calls stopped when Mr Bonnici Cachia began serving time in jail.
The court heard how Mr Bonnici Cachia often "threatened" her by telling her, among other things, that he had spoke to a monsignor to stall her annulment proceedings and that he had money to do whatever he wanted. He had also tried to speak to a priest she knew and well as her psychologist, who was also a priest. The woman told the court that he had also tried to approach priests who sat on the church's Ecclesiastical Tribunal. He also told her that he was prepared to write to the Vatican to prove his power.
The court heard how Mr Bonnici Cachia admitted to these facts in his statement to the police.
In her judgment, Magistrate Clarke said the prosecution had not managed to prove the extortion charge or that he had illegally used telecommunications equipment, as he never asked for money, but proved the harassment charge. The magistrate also ruled that he was a relapser after he was sentenced to 16 months in jail over the fraud case.
She therefore cleared him of the charges except those of harassment and relapsing and fined him €3,000. She also issued a three-year protection order in favour of the woman.
Police Inspectors Ramond Cachia and Fabian Fleri prosecuted.
Mr Bonnici Cachia is the same person who is assisting the alleged sexual abuse victim of Dominican priest Charles Fenech. Earlier this week, a criminal libel case he had instituted against Fr Fenech was dismissed because it was time barred.