Leanna Camilleri will not have to face further court proceedings. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A woman, 21, placed on probation for wrongly accusing her father of sexually abusing her, will not go through the ordeal of having her case re-opened after a judge rejected an appeal by the Attorney General.

“I’m happy justice finally prevailed. I can finally start living the truth,” Leanna Camilleri said through her lawyer, Maxilene Pace, who said her client was disappointed the Attorney General tried to prolong her ordeal.

In the appeal, the Attorney General argued that the first court should not have accepted Ms Camilleri’s guilty plea because experience showed she was vulnerable and could be easily manipulated.

Since she pleaded guilty no evidence was heard in court, but the Attorney General demanded that the Magistrates’ Court do so. However, Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi disagreed.

Ms Camilleri had admitted on national TV that she lied when she repeatedly accused her father, Emanuel, of abusing her since she was eight years old. Last September, she was placed on probation for three years and ordered to do 100 hours of community service.

She claimed she had been forced to make the allegations by her mother, Lisa May Camilleri, who is pleading not guilty to perjury.

Mr Camilleri had been sentenced to two years in prison and had spent nearly 400 days behind bars before being provisionally released by the Constitutional Court pending the outcome of the case against his former wife. The Attorney General appealed, arguing that the law allowed magistrates not to accept admissions if they felt the plea was “unsafe and unsatisfactory” – and the Camilleris’ was a textbook case.

She claimed her mother had forced her to make the allegations

He pointed out that, over the years, Ms Camilleri’s abuse claims had been consistent.

Her brother testified that her paternal grandparents promised her a mobile phone to testify in her father’s favour while her mother’s sister offered her money if she testified against him.

When she admitted to perjury she was under a lot of pressure by her family and the media. Also, her brother was dying and investigators had placed her in a cell until she told the truth. The first court should have heard the evidence to get a clearer picture of the events, the Attorney General said.

Ms Camilleri stuck to her guilty plea. She was an adult and had matured and was aware of the circumstances she was in. She said the Attorney General’s appeal was an attempt to manipulate the truth.

She noted that the first court had given her various opportunities to reconsider her plea and even asked for a pre-sentencing report.

In light of this, the judge ruled that the first court was very cautious in accepting the guilty plea. It was satisfied that her admission was free and unconditioned.

“Frankly, this court cannot understand the arguments brought forward by the Attorney General. Any other comments would be superfluous,” Mr Justice Mizzi said, dismissing the appeal.