A police officer who last year was acquitted of charges of raping a female colleague at the Msida police station will be retried, a court of appeal ruled on Wednesday,

The 34-year-old officer, whose name cannot be published, was cleared of rape in March last year but had been found guilty of harassing a second woman. He had been sentenced to one year in jail, suspended for two years. 

The Attorney General had appealed the verdict, requesting the court to overturn a decision by the judge who presided over the trial. The judge had ruled that a statement in which the accused confessed to raping his colleague was inadmissible.  

The court of appeal, presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti and Madam Justice Edwina Grima, on Wednesday annulled the original verdict and declared that the accused must undergo trial again. This time, the statement is to be included in evidence. 

In the first trial, the alleged victim had testified that the accused had raped her at the Msida police station when they were on duty in February 2018 and again the following month. 

Another colleague, a 19-year-old recruit, had testified that she had been sexually harassed by the officer. 

The presiding judge, Consuelo Scerri Herrera, had described the Msida police station as a “brothel” but ruled that the permissive behaviour there did not necessarily mean there was criminal wrongdoing.

She said that the alleged rape victim’s version was not credible and cleared the officer of all charges in her regard.

The inadmissibility or otherwise of the incriminating statement made by the accused in 2018 had been debated during the court proceedings. 

The officer had faced charges of illegal arrest, sexual harassment at the workplace and harassment.

The judge said a detailed analysis of the first victim's account showed inconsistencies in her version of the facts. Scerri Herrera said it was "more likely" that the sex was consensual, noting that the woman had avoided the court's questions about her personal life and about kissing another police officer.

The judge added that in normal circumstances rape victims would try to do everything to avoid their aggressor but the alleged victim changed her shift to be at Msida and sat in front of the accused at a meal for officers.

The judge ruled that the woman's version was not credible and acquitted the accused of rape.