A former member of the Franciscan religious order who is facing four years jail time for having sexually abused a 13-year-old under his care, has lost a human rights case.

He had filed the case after not being allowed to present new evidence during his appeal.

The mother of the accused had found a letter at her house, allegedly written by the victim, thanking the accused for helping her with bullying issues. The man, who is now married and is also a father, failed to persuade a judge that the letter was important evidence and that not presenting it would result in breaching his right to a fair trial.

Justice Lawrence Mintoff has ruled that there was no breach of his human rights by not allowing the man to present the letter as evidence.

The judge added that there was different witnesses and evidence that matched how the victim recounts the occurrence, which also helped in the handing down of the guilty verdict.

The former member of the religious order was, at the time, in charge of alter boys and girls, children attending doctrine classes and those attending a youth centre.

He later decided to leave his religious role and got married to his wife, with whom he still lives to this day.

The case was reported to the police in 2017 and he was accused of having sexual relations with a girl, who was a minor in 2010. Later in 2020 he was convicted and sentenced by the Magistrate's Court to four years in prison.

He later appealed the sentence.