Father of two children allegedly raped his nine-year-old daughter repeatedly

Warning of disturbing content: This report deals with allegations of rape and incest with minors

A 49-year-old father of two is being held without bail after being charged with repeatedly raping his nine-year-old daughter on Saturday.

During the man’s arraignment, duty judge Anne Marie Thake imposed a ban on the accused, a German national living in St Paul’s Bay, being named in news reports to prevent the identification and secondary victimisation of his children.

Police Inspector Wayne Buhagiar, who is prosecuting the case alongside attorney Cynthia Tomasuolo of the Attorney General’s Office, told the court that the accused has two daughters aged seven and nine.

The younger girl was referred to a guidance counselor after she expressed in class that she wanted to commit suicide. She later told the guidance counselor that she had seen her father and older sister interacting naked.

The 9-year-old girl was then spoken to and told the counselor how she had been raped three times by her father. The child protection service was immediately notified and the police arrested the man.

Police Inspector Wayne Buhagiar, who represented the case alongside attorney Cynthia Tomasuolo of the Attorney General’s Office, charged the man with aggravated rape, aggravated false imprisonment, aggravated non-consensual sexual activity, aggravated sexual assault of a minor, exposing a child to unwanted sexual conduct and instilling fear of violence.

A plea of ​​not guilty was entered. Lawyer Ilona Schembri, who was representing the defendant in legal aid proceedings, did not apply for bail.