A court today upheld its judgment in which the daughter of a wrongly-accused man admitted to lying under oath, after the young woman stuck to her admission of perjury.

In 2012, Leanne's father, Emanuel Camilleri, was sentenced to two years for sexually abusing his daughter. Almost 400 days into his sentence, he was released.

In September, 20-year-old Leanne Camilleri was placed under a three-year probation and ordered to do 100 hours of community work after she admitted to falsely testifying that her father had raped her.

But following the judgment, the Attorney General filed a criminal appeal, asking the court to revoke its decision on Leanne Camilleri. 

AG's appeal

In his appeal, the AG argued that an admission needs to be clear, voluntary and unconditional and that the court needs to allow enough time for the accused to rethink their guilty plea. It  said that it is only when the accused admits for the second time that the court can go on to handing a judgment.

The AG said that it could not understand how the court chose to accept Ms Camilleri's plea without a shadow of a doubt. " The case is a textbook case of when a plea should not be accepted," the appeal said. It said that the accused was always consistent in her testimony against her father and her credibility was confirmed by psychometric tests she underwent. 

It added that the testimonies of several witnesses  showed that Ms Camilleri is vulnerable and subject to psychological pressure, adding that her past experience could have influenced her.

It noted that at one point, her brother, Luke Camilleri had revealed that the young woman was subject to pressure by her mother and grandmother and that the two had also promised her a mobile phone if she withdraws her accusations against her father.

On the other hand, Ms Camilleri stressed that it was her mother who forced her into making accusations against her father, which ultimately led to criminal proceedings.

The AG noted that all this was happening during the same time when the accused' brother, Luke, was dying and that the media's coverage on the case also placed pressure on her admission.

It said that at one point, Ms Camilleri had been taken to lock up and told that she would only be released once she tells the truth.

"I merely told the accused that all she had to do was tell the truth, but she started crying heavily, telling me she does not want to go to jail," police sergeant Clayton Fiteni had told the court.

The AG concluded that Ms Camilleri's admission was unsafe and unsatisfactory.

Leanne Camilleri's reply

In a reply to the AG, Ms Camilleri stuck to her admission of perjury, saying that the statements in the appeal were surreal and do not reflect reality. 

She said that she was a victim of unfortunate events, and her only wish is to now lead a normal life like other women her age.

Ms Camilleri strongly contested the appeal, saying it is another attempt for her version of events to be manipulated. She said that today she has matured and reformed and does not want any appeal to influence her testimony once more.

The court was comfortable with her admission, she said, and the AG should not doubt that assurance.

After considerations, the court nullified the appeal made by the AG and upheld the  probation and community work judgment.

Dr Maxeline Pace appeared for Ms Camilleri.