A DJ convicted of sexual activities with minors at his teen parties has been cleared of defaming the Maltese police corps with a Facebook post.

Joel Caruana, 24, ended up in court after the police came across a Facebook post saying that a party at Caribbean Club in Ħal Far was not going to take place because the police did not issue a permit. The statement was posted on the Facebook page of JoelC Events & Marketing.

The post stated: “The event is not going to happen because the police and  authorities [sic] didn’t give us the permission to do the event at Caribbean Club after they told us it is ok to do the event away from Paceville”.

Superintendent Carmelo Bartolo told Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera that this post was defamatory as it was not the case that the police refused the permit. No application had been filed.

However, the court highlighted the “serious failings of the prosecution” in this case.

It noted that Mr Caruana denied being responsible for the Facebook page and said he had no access to the site and did not upload that particular post. As a result, the prosecution knew from the very start that Mr Caruana was not assuming responsibility for the site and it was up to them to prove who was.

The court could not assume that Mr Caruana had control over the site because it had the same name and listed his mobile phone number. It was up to the prosecution to bring forward the basic evidence about who was registered and responsible for the Facebook page, Magistrate Scerri Herrera said.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera cleared Mr Caruana of misusing electronic equipment to the detriment of the police force, committing a crime while in a suspended sentence and relapsing.