Updated: Court starts hearing Fr Charles Fenech case...

By Neil Camilleri
Malta Independent
December 16, 2014

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-12-16/local-news/Court-starts-hearing-case-against-Fr-Charles-Fenech-first-two-witnesses-heard-behind-closed-doors-6736127431

Updated: Court starts hearing Fr Charles Fenech case, victim's testimony given behind closed doors

A court this morning started hearing evidence in the case against Dominican priest Fr Charles Fenech, 54, who faces sexual abuse charges. The priest is pleading not guilty.

The alleged victim and three other witnesses gave evidence behind closed doors.

At the start of today’s sitting, defence lawyer Michael Schriha asked the court to hear the case behind closed doors and said the courts usually did so in similar cases. Magistrate Tonio Micallef Trigona, however, said he was not interested in what usually happened and said he needed a good reason to bar the media from covering the proceedings. The criminal code, he said, said that such decisions were up to the members of the judiciary.

The prosecution, led by Inspector Louise Calleja, said she was asking the court to hear the victim behind closed doors but said she had no objections to the rest of the case being heard in open court.

Apart from the victim, the court heard three other witnesses today; two women who were called in by the prosecution to corroborate the victim’s version and a doctor.

The woman, who is in her 40s, is alleging that Fr Fenech sexually abused her over a number of years. The alleged abuse started when she was a patient at Mount Carmel Hospital following her marriage breakdown.

Fr Fenech was stopped from administering his responsibilities as a priest after The Malta Independent published a story naming him as the priest who is charged with alleged sexual abuse. He has also been removed from the post of director of the Kerygma Movement. The Malta Independent had also carried several articles including the statement given to the police by the victim in question.


Lawyer Noel Bianco and Jason Grima are appearing for the alleged victim. The case continues on 23 February.