Minors were the victims in more than one-third of the sexual assault cases investigated by the police so far this year, the Times of Malta has learnt.
Police figures show that of the 84 sex assault cases reported between January and August, 29 involved underage victims.
Two men were yesterday charged with sexual activity with two minor girls who had been reported missing from a children’s institute.
Labourer Mustafa al Hmeidi 23, a resident of Marsa, and Fayiz Alkatib, 41, of Ħamrun, a refugee who works in the construction sector, both pleaded not guilty to charges of engaging in sexual activity with the minors and attempted violent indecent assault. The alleged victims were aged 12 and 13.
Earlier this month, a 41-year-old man was also charged with sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 12.
According to the police figures, nearly half of the reported cases involved victims allegedly being subjected to lewd acts and a third concerned flashers exposing themselves to minors. There were also four cases of indecent assault classified as violent and three cases of rape involving minors.
With 24 cases being reported, violent indecent assault was the most common crime of this nature investigated in the period under review. It was followed by indecent exposure, as 17 reports were filed in the first eight months of the year.
Eleven reports of rape – with the victims not solely being minors – were investigated.
This newspaper reported earlier this year that the number of rape reports received by the police had almost tripled in the past decade.
Almost 160 such cases were reported to the police over the past 10 years. The number increased from about 10 reports annually to more than 20 in 2015 and 28 last year.
While experts say awareness-raising campaigns were leading more victims to come forward, others believe there is still a long way to go.
A European Union study last year found that nearly half of Maltese men felt women often exaggerated rape or abuse claims. The Maltese are the most likely Europeans to believe that women make up such allegations.
ivan.martin@timesofmalta.com