MALTA
Times of Malta
A criminal libel case instituted against Dominican priest Charles Fenech was dismissed today because it was time barred.
Fr Fenech, who faces separate charges of sexually abusing a woman, had been sued by Edgar Bonnici Cachia, who alleged that the priest had forced the alleged victim to say that it was he (Bonnici Cachia) who had forced her to file a criminal complaint about the abuse.
But Magistrate Francesco Depasquale ruled that the complaint was filed outside the three-month time window, rendering it time-barred.
Fr Fenech is facing separate charges before a different magistrate in connection with alleged violent sexual abuse against a mentally-unstable 42-year-old woman from Zabbar. He also stands charged with holding the woman against her will and committing indecent acts in public.
Fr Fenech, who has been a Dominican friar for almost three decades, has spent most of his priesthood surrounded by young people who flock to the numerous spiritual, cultural, educational and sports events organised by the Kerygma Movement he founded in 1984. He was removed from his position shortly after the sexual abuse charges were made public by The Sunday Times of Malta.
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