A woman who allegedly filed a malicious rape report after making off with cash belonging to her partner on a one-night stand was granted bail after pleading not guilty to making the false report, perjury and aggravated theft.
The 22-year old mother from Birkirkara, employed in the catering industry, had allegedly spent a night out with the man, followed by a consensual one-off sexual encounter at his home.
After taking her leave, taking with her €1,500 in cash, the woman turned up at the police station reporting that she had been raped by the man whom she had just robbed.
Following police investigations, the woman was arraigned on charges of knowingly filing a false report about her victim, taking a false oath, simulating an offence and aggravated theft.
Defence lawyer Noel Cutajar requested a ban on the publication of the woman's name, prompting the prosecution to point out that such a measure was normally taken in the interests of victims or children. In this case, the victim was not related to the offender and no children were directly involved.
However, the court, presided by Magistrate Monica Vella, upheld the request so as to safeguard the interests of the woman's 18-month old child.
After pleading not guilty, the woman requested bail, her lawyer pointing out that there were no civilian witnesses to testify and moreover, his client had “a baby to care for”.
However, the prosecution was quick to counter that there were indeed civilians and family members who were to testify. Moreover, “simply because you have a son” was no legal excuse to be granted bail, the inspector remarked.
The court, addressing the woman before her, stressed that “perjury carries with it prison time and so does making a false accusation... these are serious crimes, they aren’t charges that you can just pay €20 and be done with”.
However, in light of the circumstances of the case, the court upheld the request for bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000, besides a curfew order and an obligation to sign the bail book twice weekly.
Inspector Joseph Busuttil prosecuted. Lawyer Noel Cutajar was defence counsel.