The Lisa Maria Foundation blasted a “disgraceful” sentence where a child abuser was only handed probation after being found to have abused three young children.

“It is a very sad day when three young children find the courage to disclose that they have been sexually abused, the case makes it to court, and these children go through the ordeal of testifying, only for their abuser to be found guilty and given probation,” the foundation said in a statement late on Thursday.

The statement was reacting to a court decision earlier in the day where a 28-year-old Gozitan man was placed on probation after being found guilty of defiling three children aged 11, 7 and 5 years old respectively.

The man was a music teacher, and all three children were his students.

“This sentence is a disgrace to the abuse that these children have endured and to a nation who should prioritise nothing above the protection of its children,” the foundation said.

The Foundation said that the ruling is “yet another example of how our judicial system does not reflect the seriousness of these actions in its sentencing.”

“The message that he, along with other child abusers, received today with this ruling is that even when you abuse the most vulnerable of our society, even when you are caught, even when you are found guilty, the consequences are minimal,” it continued.

“This abuser has not had his freedom and rights curtailed in any way. On the other hand, these children and their families will likely have years to process this traumatic experience. The fact that the court deemed he was unsafe around children except his own, is also baffling, considering that research shows us that most children know their abusers,” it added.

The Foundation blasted the “insensitivity” displayed by the courts, which observed that ‘offences were carried out over a short period of time’, that the acts ’were deemed out of character’ or that the abuser was ‘in a stable relationship.’

It said that these are all statements that “trivialise, ridicule and minimise” the abuse that the man inflicted in what seems to be an attempt to excuse these actions. “The system should be utterly ashamed of this secondary victimisation,” the foundation said.

The Lisa Maria Foundation called for an urgent review of judicial proceedings into sentencing of child abuse cases and for more training for magistrates to raise awareness about the longlasting implications of traumatic experiences brought about by abuse.

“As one of the highest authorities in Malta and Gozo, courts should be setting the standard and sending a strong message that child abuse will not be tolerated and that the consequences of doing so should be harsh enough that they in themselves are a deterrent,” the Foundation said.

It said that its final thoughts are with the children and their families who had to experience this ordeal and injustice.

“We have a lot to learn from children for the tremendous courage they show in coming forward and facing their abuser.”