Bail denied for 25-year-old man who allegedly raped and kidnapped his victim

A police investigator described in court how a Maltese man allegedly lured his ex-girlfriend into his house with the promise of a job and raped her instead.

Stefmar Hatherly, 25, of Floriana, appeared arrested before Judge Giannella Camilleri Busuttil on Thursday to face the related charges.

Police Inspector Omar Zammit told the court that on June 4 at around 3pm, a woman reported to police that she had gone to her ex-boyfriend’s house “because he wanted to find her a job”.

Instead, the man drove her to a deserted area. When the woman fled, the accused managed to arrest her and then rape her.

He then drove her to his house in Floriana, where the woman was detained. Later that afternoon, she managed to escape and went to the police station to file a complaint.

Hatherly later went to the police headquarters in Floriana on his own initiative, allegedly to ask where the woman was, and was taken into custody.

Hatherly is charged with a total of 10 offences, including rape, committing a non-consensual sexual act, upsetting public morals in a public place and recidivism. He is also accused of illegally detaining and restraining the alleged victim against her will at a Floriana apartment on June 4.

Four further charges have been laid in connection with a separate attack that allegedly took place in a Sliema apartment on May 20. Hatherly is accused of making the woman fear he would use violence against her, assaulting her, threatening her and another man and disturbing the peace.

Along with the indictment, prosecutors Jurgen Dalli and Cynthia Tomasuolo of the Attorney General’s Office, assisted by Police Inspectors Wayne Buhagiar and Omar Zammit, also asked the court to issue such orders as it deems appropriate to ensure the safety of the alleged victims.

Defense attorney Matthew Xuereb, who is representing Hatherly along with attorneys Jose Herrera and Sandro Camilleri, said the defense was only recently informed that the victim had made a statement to police and the investigating judge during the investigation.

The lawyers requested that these statements be disclosed immediately so that they could prepare their questions to the woman. Xuereb told the court that he “intended to confront her with several truths, such as the fact that she had sent the accused very erotic messages and asked him to meet.”

Inspector Zammit did not object, saying this was only possible because the woman gave her sworn statement on video, otherwise the parties would have had to wait for the investigation to be completed.

No ban on publishing the defendant’s name

Xuereb asked the court to prohibit the publication of the names of the accused and the alleged victim “in order not to implicate relatives, especially his minor daughter, who has nothing to do with the case.”

The lawyer suspected that the victim had had a relationship with the defendant for several months.

Attorney General Jürgen Dalli said the prosecution agreed with the victim, but reminded the court that the law speaks of publication bans “to protect the victim from secondary victimization, not the accused.” He argued that there was no reason to withhold the accused’s name.

Xuereb argued that a balance must be found between open access to justice, which is an important aspect of democracy, and the rights of the accused.

The court rejected the application and merely imposed a media ban on publishing the victim’s name.

Attorney Jose Herrera then requested that the defendant be released on bail. He argued that the court could prohibit the defendant from having contact with the alleged victim and issue a temporary protection order. In addition, the man is raising a six-year-old daughter who will suffer the most, he said.

Dalli replied that there were other eyewitnesses – two victims are named in the indictment – and argued that this risk could not be ruled out.

The defendant already has three previous convictions, explained Dalli. This raised doubts among the public prosecutor’s office as to the extent to which the man would comply with any bail conditions.

In addition, the prosecutor said, the daughter lived with her mother. “This ‘apology’ with the daughter is not appreciated in such a sensitive issue,” he said. “The defendant knows the victim and the witnesses live with her, so he knows them too. That is why the prosecution insists that the risk of tampering with evidence is real,” Dalli concluded.

The court refused to grant bail because the case was still at an early stage and Hatherly had previously been convicted of crimes against another of his ex-girlfriends.

A protective order was issued on behalf of the victims, prohibiting Hatherly from approaching, contacting, following, or staying near their homes or workplaces.