Man allegedly raped ex-girlfriend and locked her in his house

A man has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to charges he raped his ex-girlfriend and then locked her in his house until she eventually managed to escape and asked the police for help.

The alleged incidents occurred on Monday evening when the victim, a Colombian national, went to the home of her former partner in Floriana after he promised to help her find a job.

However, plans took an unexpected turn when the man, Stefmar Hatherly, 25, drove the woman to the it-Torri l-Aħmar area of ​​Mellieħa.

She tried to flee because she sensed trouble, but the accused caught up with her. This is when the rape is said to have taken place.

He then drove the woman to his home and locked her up there.

She managed to escape and on Tuesday at around 3 p.m. she went to the police headquarters to report the alleged ordeal.

The suspect later also showed up and checked the woman’s whereabouts.

He was arrested.

The man appeared in court on Thursday facing a number of charges relating to last Monday’s incident, as well as an earlier incident that allegedly occurred at an apartment in Sliema last month.

Hatherly was charged with rape of the alleged victim, non-consensual sexual conduct, instilling fear of violence, outraging public morals or decency, and reoffending.

He was also accused of holding the woman against her will.

During the incident in Sliema, the accused is said to have instilled fear of violence in the victim, attacked, insulted and threatened her, and also intentionally disturbed the public peace.

He pleaded not guilty.

An application for release on bail was rejected not only because other civilian witnesses had yet to testify, but also because of the defendant’s previous convictions.

The man had previously been convicted of crimes against another ex-girlfriend and prosecutors expressed doubts as to whether he would comply with court orders if granted bail.

After hearing the submissions, the court, presided over by Judge Giannella Camilleri Busuttil, rejected the application.

The court also rejected a request by the defense to prohibit the defendant’s name from being used. His lawyers argued that the alleged victim had been in a relationship with the defendant for months.

In addition, the defendant was the father of a minor child.

However, the public prosecutor’s office countered that such a ban was permissible under law to protect the victim from secondary victimization, but not to the same extent for the accused person.

The court granted the application for a protection order prohibiting the defendant from approaching or contacting the alleged victim and any third party involved in the incident in Sliema.

AG attorneys Jurgen Dalli and Cynthia Tomasuolo led the prosecution along with Inspectors Wayne Buhagiar and Omar Zammit.

The defense attorneys were Jose Herrera, Matthew Xuereb and Sandro Camilleri.