A man who had been accused and acquitted of prostituting a "manipulative" 17-year-old girl has had the judgment confirmed on appeal.

The girl, who cannot be named because she is a minor, ran away from home several times and, according to three psychiatrists who testified, she is a good liar and is manipulative, the magistrate's court had noted.

She had accused 31-year-old Brian Fenech of prostituting her and giving her cocaine, ecstasy and hashish on January 21, 2006 and in the previous weeks.

In the original judgment, Magistrate Doreen Clarke said that, although in the eyes of the law, one witness, if believed, was enough to prove someone's guilt, the girl was not credible.

Following the judgment, the Attorney General filed an appeal and said that the first court had made an incorrect appreciation of the evidence.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, after taking into consideration all the evidence said that the most important factor that cast a doubt over the girl's testimony was her psychological disorders.

The judge placed a lot of importance on the testimony given by psychiatrist Mark Xuereb who said that he knew the girl for a number of years and that she suffered from behavioural disorders and needs life long attention.

He added that she had also recently been in hospital receiving treatment for a "conduct and emotional disorder".

It was in the light of this testimony that the court had a lurking doubt about the credibility of the girl and took this into consideration when acquitting Mr Fenech, the appeals court said.

Mr Justice Galea Debono confirmed the appealed judgement.