A 21-year-old carpenter yesterday vehemently denied raping his underage girlfriend of two years in the ladies’ toilet of a Paceville nightclub.

Christian Bugeja, from Marsaxlokk, pleaded not guilty to raping the 17-year-old, holding her against her will, defiling her, committing sexual acts with an underage girl and offending public morals by committing sexual acts in public. He was also charged with escaping from police custody when he fled from the St Julian’s police station soon after he was arrested.

The court heard the pair have been dating for the past two years and she spent several nights at the home of her boyfriend, who lives with his parents.

The incident is alleged to have taken place inside a Paceville nightclub at around 2.30am on Saturday morning. The defence is insisting that the act was consensual.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi asked for the appointment of an IT court expert to examine his client’s mobile phone for text messages between the two, which could be relevant to the case.

Magistrate Anthony Vella acceded to the request.

He also upheld a request for bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €5,000 and a condition to sign daily at the Żejtun police station.

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