MALTA
Malta Independent
Helena Grech
Thursday, 10 August 2017
Fr Charles Fenech, former leader of the philanthropical Kergyma movement, was found guilty of sexually abusing a vulnerable person, landing him a three-month jail term suspended for one year.
Fenech was also charged with detaining a woman against her will and offending a person’s morals in a public sphere. He was acquitted of the last two charges.
The woman involved had testified in court, about how separation from her husband had left her very depressed, and that Fenech had become a patriarchal figure in her life.
The woman filed her first police report in August 2011. She was working at Dar Tal-Providenza and described how the priest had urged her to perform oral sex on him. Battling depression, she was eventually admitted to Mt Carmel psychiatric hospital to receive treatment.
She testified that at a later stage when she was in a better place, celebrations were being hosted at her home and Fenech was among the guests. At one point, the priest asked to speak with her alone and attempted to give her a French kiss, the victim testified.
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