The criminal case against Johann Stellingwerf is being heard behind closed doors. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A court case by a Dutch man challenging the police to arraign his former girlfriend for falsely accusing him of rape could continue behind closed doors as the police fear details could offend public morality.

Police Inspector Yvonne Farrugia told Magistrate Aaron Bugeja the criminal case against Johann Stellingwerf was also being heard behind closed doors.

The woman’s lawyer, Giannella de Marco, is backing the call for the media ban, which was made during the fourth sitting of the challenge proceedings initiated by Mr Stellingwerf.

He is demanding that the woman, whose name cannot be published by court order, should be charged with lying about him and filing false reports. Four criminal complaints were filed against her between November 2013 and August last year.

According to what has been heard so far in court, the rape claim was made at the same time she had e-mailed him photographs of her naked.

Defence lawyer Jason Grima objected to the media ban request, wondering why it had taken the police so long to realise the case could offend public morals.

He complained that the same thing had happened during the criminal case, with the prosecution asking for it to continue behind closed doors more than a year after proceedings had started.

Dr de Marco said it was “incongruent” that two cases having the same details were not treated similarly in terms of publicity.

The magistrate agreed, saying it was “a two-headed monster”. He, however, upheld Dr Grima’s request for submissions to be made in writing and put off the case to October.

The police fear details could offend public morality

During the last sitting, Mr Stellingwerf exhibited in court a collection of 1,300 “hot” photographs, which he said the woman had sent him throughout their five-month relationship.

He said the pictures, which included close-up shots of a vagina and of a naked woman in different positions, were sent to him via e-mail right when she was alleging he had raped her several times.

The woman is alleging the Dutchman raped her repeatedly for hours on end and on an almost daily basis. Mr Stellingwerf described the relationship as a “happy” one, during which the woman never complained.

He said he arrived in Malta in March 2013 and met the woman in Paceville. She asked him if he wanted to be her husband for the night and then took him to her house in Marsa where they had consensual sex. They began dating in May and were in “an exciting relationship”, he said, adding he still had feelings for the woman.

The case continues.