A teenage girl made up a story that her grandfather raped her several times to get back at her father and his family, the court ruled, finally bringing to an end the pensioner’s three-year ordeal.

The man, now 68, was cleared of charges of raping the teenager who lied about the incident in an attempt at perceived revenge.

Although there was no ban on publication of the man’s name, it is not being published to protect the identity of the girl who was 13 when she made the claims in 2012. The girl also has psychiatric problems and spent time at Mount Carmel Hospital.

The man’s ordeal began when his son’s daughter went to the police to claim that he had raped her on various occasions. The pensioner used to mind the girl for a couple of hours a day while her father, who was separated, was at work.

She embellished her story with claims that he forced her to participate in various sexual acts with him.

Story had been made up from beginning to end

The pensioner vehemently denied the allegations, but the police still took the decision to proceed on the basis of the girl’s statements.

However, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli ruled that the girl had fabricated the story because she was fed up with her father’s discipline and wanted to live with the mother instead.

The court said it was morally convinced that the girl was lying, not least because of inconsistencies in her evidence and lack of chronology.

This, according to the court, was not due to the fact that she was embarrassed or scared, as the prosecution claimed, but because the story had been made up from beginning to end.

‘She would often smile and show no discomfort’

The court heard how the girl’s parents had separated and that the father was given custody of the three children.

The girl spent eight years living with her father but trouble between the two began when he kept a tighter rein on her after she got involved with two men – whom she later claimed had forced themselves upon her.

In a bid to get back at her father, the girl filed a report against her grandfather with government social agency Appoġġ, claiming he had raped her on several occasions.

The court heard a social worker explain how the girl had psychiatric and behavioural problems and often got into trouble at school.

The girl was sketchy on certain details and was also inconsistent

Magistrate Demicoli noted that the girl was sketchy on certain details and was also inconsistent.

Moreover, during her testimony through video conferencing the girl’s behaviour was not normally associated with someone who had been raped or forced to do something against her will. On the contrary, she would often smile and show no discomfort.

The man told The Sunday Times of Malta that he would find it “very difficult” to forgive his granddaughter but was trying his best to forget about the tribulation caused by her lies.

Police inspectors Louise Calleja and Sylvana Briffa prosecuted while Ludvic Caruana appeared for the man.