Updated 8.40pm - Teacher arrested
The 32-year-old teacher named in sexual abuse claims that surfaced at State school earlier this week has been arrested, sources confirmed.
Police took the teacher, who along with three teenage students had been suspended in the wake of the claims, into custody earlier this evening.
Investigations into the case, which was flagged by the mother of a 14-year-old girl, have been widened in the wake of fresh claims that emerged yesterday.
Police sources said the probe was focusing on at least three cases, all of which allegedly happened since the start of this scholastic year at the Ħamrun senior school.
It is being claimed that, last week, another female student was locked in a classroom by the teacher, who molested her together with seven male students.
Subsequently, a series of compromising photos of the victim were allegedly posted on multi-media mobile application Snapchat.
Apart from the teacher, a 13-year-old boy, who despite his tender age is already known to the police after being caught violating traffic regulations, is also being investigated.
Though Education Ministry officials declined to comment on the case, government sources said the teacher and three male students were suspended pending investigations.
The Malta Union of Teachers called on the Education Ministry to launch a separate investigation to establish why “on a daily basis, young adults from other youth hubs are abusing students and teachers alike”.
It complained that the suspended teacher, a union member, was being treated by the media as if he had already been found guilty. The MUT pointed out that all reports so far were based solely on allegations levelled by a victim’s mother.
I fell for it because, after accepting his invitation to use the lift, his friend tried to touch me
When this newspaper sought the union’s assistance to obtain the other side of the story by speaking to the teacher in question, the reply was that he was ordered to refrain from speaking to the media.
Allegations of sex abuse against minors came to light on Wednesday night when the Education Ministry issued a statement announcing the launch of a police investigation and a magisterial inquiry.
Though no further details were given at that stage, Maltese daily L-Orizzont said yesterday the case happened on Tuesday at a co-educational State secondary school in Ħamrun.
According to the press report, the incident occurred during a regular lesson when a girl was allegedly targeted by some of her colleagues with the teacher’s blessing. The newspaper reported that they tried to touch her but the girl, together with a friend who reportedly went to her assistance, resisted the aggressors and escaped. She sustained a bruised foot after being kicked by one of the boys, it was reported.
Quoting the victim’s mother, the newspaper said the authorities only started to look into the allegations when contacted by Police Officers Union chief, Sandro Camilleri. The woman claimed that when she went to report the case at the Ħamrun police station she was initially told not to forge ahead with the complaint and then asked to get a medical certificate.
Contacted by this newspaper, the first victim’s mother confirmed that yesterday afternoon she accompanied her daughter to give a statement at the police headquarters.
On her part, the girl, who also spoke to the Times of Malta with her mother’s consent, claimed that the boys involved in the cases were very close to the teacher in question.
“They used to hang out with him all day and he even used to share with them text messages and other material on his mobile phone,” she said.
She said that one of the boys had somehow gained access to a lift, supposedly reserved for staff members, with the clear intention of finding a secluded place to abuse his victims.
“Unfortunately, I fell for it because, after accepting his invitation to use the lift, his friend tried to touch me,” she said.
Prior to last Tuesday’s incident, the girl said she had occasionally complained with her mother about the teacher’s behaviour, particularly that he frequently brushed his body against her breasts. However, the unsuspecting mother had dismissed her concerns telling her such contact must have been purely accidental.
The teenager recounted that the straw which broke the camel’s back was when the teacher allegedly told her classmates to “abuse” her three days ago. “At that stage, I could take it no more and decided to spill the beans,” the girl said.
'Not reporting makes one complicit' - Children's Commissioner
In a statement, the Children's Commissioner noted that today marked the European Day Against Sexual Violence against Children.
The Commissioner unreservedly condemned any instances of child abuse, although they made it clear they were not entering into the merits of this particular case.
They noted that a failure to report abuse was complicit in it.
"Many abuses against children are committed by people within or close to the child’s family," the Commissioner's statement read. "In many cases, this leads to other people who know of the abuse having dilemmas as to whether they should report. It is imperative that we all realize that the best interest of the child prevails over any other interest."
The Commissioner's office is currently distributing a book titled Kiko u l-Id to Year 2 students. The booklet, which also contains an insert for parents, is intended to help children distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.