MALTA
Times of Malta
Last month, the courts confirmed that a defrocked priest who had been convicted last year of sexual abuse of boys in his care could not be convicted of a related rape charge because of an error in the charge sheet.
The then Attorney General failed to correct the mistake while the case was being heard, leading to his acquittal.
This was upheld on appeal. Fresh charges cannot be filed against this paedophile ex-priest because the crime is now time-barred.
Another acquittal based on an error in the charge sheet has also recently sparked public outrage, causing President George Abela to draw stark attention to the need for prosecuting officers to be accurate in framing charge sheets.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.