A Libyan man was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of defiling a Tunisian underage boy while he was at an internet café in St Julian’s when he was in Malta on holiday with his family last January.

Haythem Musbah S. Elkhweldi, 23, was found guilty of touching the boy’s genitals at the internet café although he (the accused) always denied ever doing anything while at the same time admitting that he was drunk that night. Elkhweldi was also found guilty of performing immoral acts in public.

The court heard how the boy was in Malta with his family and that on the night in question, he went to an internet café to chat with his friends on the internet. While he was there, the accused befriended him and eventually touched his private parts.

The accused told the court that all he did was ruffle the boy’s hair. He said he was drunk that night and could not even remember whether the boy was the same one who testified in court. He denied molesting the child.

Handing down her judgement, Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani ruled that the evidence of the young boy was detailed and precise and left no doubt that the accused had committed the lewd acts. She jailed him for two-and-a-half years and ordered that the time he spent in preventive arrest be reduced from the jail term.

Police Inspectors Raymond Aquilina and Martin Sammut prosecuted.