A man has been cleared of charges of sexually abusing his 13-year-old daughter after it emerged that the girl had fabricated the allegations after witnessing him hitting her mother while drunk.

The judgement was handed down by the magistrates' court in Gozo.

The girl had gone to the police to report an incident which occurred in September 2014, when the father and daughter had slept beside each other in a Gozo farmhouse he had rented with another family to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. The father claimed to have awoken to find his hand resting on his daughter’s chest, at which point, he said, he had moved to the sofa.

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud heard how the teenager had resorted to a counsellor after seeing her father strike her mother while under the influence of drink. Her imagination fired by a story reported in the media, the girl had woven a fanciful tale marked by allegations of “phantom episodes of abuse."

Aġenzija Appoġġ were called into the matter and subsequently the police were alerted about the case. Investigations led to the father’s arrest on charges of corruption of minors, participation in sexual activity with minors, attempted violent indecent assault and harassment, as well as assaulting and slightly injuring his wife.

The latter charge was dropped during the proceedings after the wife declared that she had forgiven her husband.

The court outlined the elements of the offences with which the accused was charged and cited a report by the Family Court of Australia which showed that children who are exposed to family violence have higher levels of emotional and behavioural problems and were at an even greater risk of developing emotional, behavioural, social and educational problems.

The court noted that the father had testified to having had had a serious drinking problem which he refused to acknowledge until his daughter's allegations led him to realize that his condition had deteriorated to such an extent that the time had come to address the problem. He underwent a rehabilitation programme to overcome his alcoholism in 2015.

The court noted that the man had stopped drinking and was receiving therapy, as confirmed on oath by his therapist.

On the basis of the evidence put forward, the court was not morally convinced of the accused's guilt pointing out that "the evidence brought by the prosecution was far removed from satisfying the burden of proof required by law."

Whilst acquitting the father of all accusations, the court noted that the wrong done by the girl had ultimately led her father to seek help and to finally overcome his alcoholism, helping to restore harmony to family life.