A man who stands charged with raping his former Maltese girlfriend has been arrested in Barcelona after a woman filed a police report claiming she was also raped by the Dutchman.

Johann Stellingwerf had been summoned to court as his compilation of evidence was set to resume today but Magistrate Josette Demicoli was told that the accused was absent because he was being held under arrest in Spain.

Sources said Stellingwerf is being “held for investigation” after a woman claimed she was raped by him but he has not been charged with anything yet. If he is charged it is unclear whether the Spanish case would be heard before the Malta case continues.

The Dutchman, 35, is accused of raping the Maltese woman in 2013, during a brief relationship.

Mr Stellingwerf denies the claims and has insisted that the relationship was a “happy” one and that everything was consensual. He had presented over a thousand pictures in court, together with amorous text messages he claims were sent by the woman. Many were sent in the period during which she claims she was raped. She had also visited him in the Netherlands during the same period.

Stellingwerf had initially been accused of defrauding his girlfriend out of €25,000 after she claimed that the internet and marketing related services he provided to help promote her hairdressing business had been done under the guise of a fictitious company.  But he claimed – and he had shown The Malta Independent a Dutch court verdict to this effect – that the company existed and the woman had been ordered to pay the firm sum of €27,000.

The Dutchman claimed the woman wanted him to pay her €3,000 in return for her dropping the charges but when he refused the police added the rape charge.

In 2006, Stellingwerf was accused of rape by five women. Three of the accusers subsequently retracted the charges but he was convicted in the other two cases. He is currently appealing the cases before the European Court of Human Rights.