A man went on trial on Monday, accused of having sexually abused his cousin since she was seven years old.

The trial, the first this year, is also the first to be presided by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera.

The man, now 25, stands accused of raping his underage cousin, now 16, and engaging in sexual acts with the girl over a seven-year span which ended two years ago.

The alleged rape took place when the girl was 10 years old.

Testifying in the trial, presided over by the judge, without a panel of jurors, various police officers recounted how the alleged abuse had come to light only after the criminal nature of the activity had dawned upon the girl during PSD lessons at school.

Inspector Paula Ciantar, who had led the investigations leading to the arrest and arraignment of the accused, explained how the alleged abuse had taken place at the home of the victim’s maternal grandmother at Marsa where the accused resided and where the girl regularly used to spend time while her mother was at work.

It had all begun when one day the young man placed a hand on his cousin’s leg, sliding it up towards her private parts before stopping short of any further act.

Other sexual activity followed at frequent intervals, culminating in one particular episode when the accused had pushed his cousin forward onto a washing machine and forced himself upon her, causing her to cry out in pain.

That was the only occasion where sexual penetration had taken place, the court heard.

The final incident before the victim had opened up with her school counsellor, had taken place when the girl was 14. She recounted how her cousin had caught hold of her hand and placed it inside his underpants.

This episode had taken place while the two were sharing a bed with their 7-year old twin cousins who lay between the accused and his alleged victim, such circumstances prompting the defence to question the truth behind the allegation.

The court also heard of one other occasion when the girl had approached her cousin and tried to touch him intimately. The man had turned down her advances on that occasion. The girl had later told the police how she had felt bad about her action.

Following this incident, the abuse had allegedly ceased for a year or so, only to resume until the girl realized that what had been taking place had been wrong and decided to speak about it. 

When going through the details with the police, the girl had always insisted that the accused had never employed violence and that she had only realized the wrongful nature of the activity after lessons at school.

Inspector Ciantar explained that the alleged victim had been brought up in a family environment where sexual education was hardly ever discussed.

At one point, during the testimony of a police constable, the defence raised a point of law regarding the validity of the accused’s arrest since it was not clear when the man had been told the name of the person making the allegations in his regard.

Apparently, upon turning up at the grandmother’s flat where the accused resided, the police officers had immediately informed him of the charges without telling him the name of his alleged victim.

Facing cross-examination in court today, a police sergeant and constable insisted they had done so since other family members had been present at the time. However, his cousin’s name had been revealed in the police car on the way to police headquarters where he was taken for questioning. 

The court ordered a ban on the name of both victim and the accused.

Lawyers Nadia Attard, Matthew Xuereb and Charles Mercieca from the AG’s Office are prosecuting.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Anita Giordmaina are defence counsel.