Man accused of raping mentally-impaired girlfriend
A young man allegedly grabbed his mentally-impaired girlfriend by the neck and forced her to have sex against her will.
The 26-year old Siġġiewi man was marched to court on Thursday under arrest, pleading not guilty to rape as well as to having allegedly forced himself upon his 19-year old girlfriend who, the court was told by inspector John Spiteri, was mentally impaired.
The woman refused her boyfriend’s sexual demands, prompting the man to grab her by the neck and allegedly forcing himself upon her.
Defence lawyer Leslie Cuschieri remarked that he would request an examination to assess his client’s mental faculties, noting that the accused lived with his mother and could lose his job if bail were to be denied.
However, the Court, presided over by magistrate Audrey Demicoli, turned down the request for bail citing the possible risk of tampering with evidence until the alleged victim testified.