A schoolgirl accused her teacher of sexually abusing her to try to opt out of private lessons, a magistrate said yesterday as she acquitted the 69-year-old man.

The girl, who was 10 at the time, told her six-year-old sister about the allegations two years later, who told their parents.

The man, who cannot be named by court order, has an unblemished 40 year career in State schools.

He was charged in 2006 with corrupting the girl, violent indecent assault, holding her against her will and offending public morals.

She told the court and police that he touched her intimately in front of a class of 23 students while she stood to read from a book.

She claimed this happened not only at school but at his garage as well, where she would go after school for private lessons with other children.

She told police he touched her intimately in front of 23 students

The girl told police he would give her presents and treat her differently to other children by rewarding her for good work.

When questioned, she said it was her parents’ idea to go to private lessons, against her wishes.

However, she claimed she told her parents she wanted to go.

Classmates were asked to testify and they all said nothing untoward ever happened.

They had never seen anything suspicious or unusual during lessons although the girl said the abuse took place every lesson.

The accused always denied the allegations and said the private lessons took place in classes made up of boys and girls at the same time, and she attended with her cousins.

The teacher said he had suggested private lessons because the girl was declared a problem child since she could not read in Year Three and had made significant progress because of the extra tuition.

The teacher said he never taught lessons to children alone – it was always in groups.

Considering the evidence, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli said she had serious doubts about the credibility of the child.

She found it very hard to believe the teacher managed to sexually abuse her in front of a whole class of children without anyone noticing.

In today’s education system, children are taught about abuse and if these things actually happened then one of the children would have spoken out.

The magistrate said she found it very strange that the girl chose to make the claims to her sister, who could offer no help or comfort.

The magistrate said it was more probable that while the girl was conscious of the fact that sexual abuse could happen, she chose to invent the story to stop going to private lessons after she failed to convince her mother that she did not need to attend any more because the teacher was “annoying”.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Kathleen Grima appeared for the man.

In a statement, the Malta Union of Teachers said that while it showed solidarity with this teacher, it noted many such similar cases in other schools, to the extent that the union had to issue a directive so that none of its members remain alone with a child under any circumstance.

The MUT said it is aware of cases, including pending court cases, which involve people suspended from work on unfounded accusations. While condemning anybody found guilty, the union appealed to the authorities to treat the accused as innocent until found guilty and to ensure justice is not delayed.