A man from Niger has been jailed for four years after sexually abusing his ex-girlfriend’s nine-year-old daughter.

Mahawya Abubaker, 24, who lives in Msida, was convicted of abusing the girl while he was alone with her in the living room on March 13, 2014.

The girl’s mother had dated Mr Abubaker for one month and the two had remained friends.

However, on the day of the incident the mother was in another room as she did not wish to communicate with the man, who had turned up at her apartment to pay for some clothes she had bought for him.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, heard how the mother had told the man to leave apartment when her daughter, who testified in court via video-link, informed her she had been abused.

Sentencing him to four years’ imprisonment, Magistrate Audrey Demicoli said that she found the girl to be a convincing witness and she issued a protection order in favour of the girl and her family.

Police Inspectors Sylvana Briffa and Alexander Millo prosecuted.