MALTA
Times of Malta
November 27, 2018
By Edwina Brincat
The man admitted his actions but said a prison term was excessive
An appeals court has confirmed an effective three-year prison term for a 70-year old man who had admitted sexually abusing a number of underage boys.
Valletta resident John Zammit will also have his name recorded in the Sexual Offenders’ Register following the decision by the Criminal Court of Appeal.
The accused was investigated by the police following an anonymous tip-off. He subsequently admitted to having had oral sex with four boys, aged between 13 and 17, in exchange for money or food.
The man, a part-time worker at a pastizzi shop, also admitted the charges in court and was handed a three-year effective jail term. He appealed, arguing that the punishment was excessive.
While acknowledging that what he had done was “very serious,” the accused said that by sending him to prison, the court would allow him no chance to fix the harm done.
The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, focusing upon the accused’s own statement, observed that the man, a father of four and separated for the past 37 years, had allegedly been sexually abused by a priest when aged 16.
After years of inner turmoil, the man had finally come to terms with his bisexual tendencies, trying to lead as normal a life as possible.
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