A man was cleared of harassing and threatening his former partner after relations between the two turned sour with the court urging both parties to seek to resolve their pending civil issues, thereby ending this chapter in their life.
Salvatore La Rocca, 42, was accused of harassing and threatening his ex, demanding money for jobs he had done at her salon, verbally insulting her in front of customers and hacking her email and Facebook accounts.
Various issues of a civil nature were left unsolved when the couple broke up and attempts to reach an amicable solution failed.
Finally, the woman filed a harassment report, telling the police how her ex used to allegedly drive past her home and salon, revving his motorbike to signal his presence. He even allegedly sent her invoices for unsettled dues. All this had left her feeling intimidated and scared, the woman had told the police.
However, when delivering judgment against the accused, the court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, observed that the issues between the parties were civil rather than criminal ones, adding that this detracted from time better spent in resolving other matters which were “truly criminal and much more serious”.
Faced with conflicting versions, the court observed that the evidence led to “serious doubts” as to the veracity of the allegations.
The woman had never seen the accused “face to face” when he allegedly revved his bike outside her salon, stating that she had only heard “the particular sound” of the engine.
After this incident, the estranged couple had continued to exchange emails which seemed to contradict the woman’s claims of being stressed and alarmed by her ex’s behaviour.
At the time when attempts to settle the pending issues between them were still ongoing, the woman had never shown any reluctance to meet her alleged harasser, even publicly thanking him when he landed her with a magazine interview.
As for her claims that the accused had threatened to report her to the VAT authorities and Jobsplus, the court declared that no evidence of such reports had been produced.
Nor had the prosecution proved the source of the e-mails and text messages allegedly received by the woman, basing its charges on the sole declaration of the alleged victim. “Investigations should have been undertaken before charges were issued, rather than pending proceedings,” the court said.
Following the couple’s split, the accused still had access to her online accounts, the court noted, adding that the least the woman could have done was change her passwords.
In light of all evidence put forward, the court concluded that the charges had not been proven, thereby acquitting the accused, while urging the former couple to iron out their differences with the help of their lawyers and bring this chapter of their lives to an end.