A 73-year-old man from St Paul’s Bay on Saturday was charged with the possession and dissemination of what has been described as “extreme child pornography.”

Publius Said, also known as Leo or Pullu, was remanded in custody.

He was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Charmaine Galea and accused of possession of child pornography and misuse of electronic communications equipment.

The police say the offences took place during the month of November 2022 and in previous months.

Police Inspector Joseph Busuttil told the court that the police had investigated the defendant after receiving an alert from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a US-based organisation involved in the fight against child abduction and sexual exploitation.

NCMEC had informed the Maltese authorities about pornographic videos showing extreme, violent sexual abuse carried out on very young children, which had allegedly been downloaded by Said.

In court today, Said entered a plea of not guilty and was remanded in custody after being denied bail.

Lawyer Carmel Gatt was defence counsel.