A 46-year-old former supermarket manager was yesterday cleared of sexually harassing a 17-year-old staff member after a court heard they were very close friends and doubts were raised about her credibility.

Colin Mifsud, of Sliema, was charged with sexually harassing the girl in the last three months of 2010. However, he produced a number of text messages showing they were close friends.

Magistrate Edwina Grima said that, in evaluating the evidence to determine whether Mr Mifsud’s actions were illegal, she took into account the girl’s behaviour.

On the one hand, the girl claimed he had made sexual advances, during which he touched her intimately in spite of the fact she tried to resist him. The prosecution also produced two girls who testified the accused had sexually harassed them but the court could not take these into account because Mr Mifsud was not charged with harassing them.

On the other hand, the girl in question had not complained about his behaviour and was even promoted after just a short time in the job, something which annoyed the other employees. She only made the accusations when her boyfriend’s father turned up at work and confronted them both after someone told her boyfriend about their close relationship.

The magistrate noted the accused had even accompanied the girl to St Phillips Hospital for a medical appointment after they had finished their shifts together. She pointed out the friendship had become so close it prompted someone to actually tell her boyfriend about it.

This was besides a number of SMSs showing how close their relationship was. Furthermore, on the very day her boyfriend’s father turned up to confront them both, she had sent the accused an SMS asking him if he would visit because it was his day off.

The magistrate said in the circumstances she could not find Mr Mifsud guilty of sexually harassing the girl, who cannot be named because she was a minor at the time.