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A 39-year-old woman appeared before the court charged with multiple offences allegedly committed against her two minor children over a number of years.

According to the prosecution, the police investigation commenced in April 2026 after the Family Court issued a decree directing investigators to examine allegations that the accused had engaged in sexual conduct involving her daughter and had repeatedly touched her son's intimate parts both over and underneath his clothing.

The alleged offences are also said to have taken place in the presence of her other minor children.

The court heard that, as part of the investigation, police first interviewed a 13-year-old witness whose account was found to be consistent with the allegations contained in the original report.

Investigators subsequently gathered further evidence indicating that the alleged abuse of one of the children, who is now nine years old, had begun when the child was approximately three years old and continued until the end of last year.

She pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The court heard she described herself as a housewife who also runs her own business.

The mother was arrested following the police investigation and arraigned before the court. The defence did not contest the validity of her arrest before requesting bail.

The prosecution strongly opposed the request, describing the proceedings as involving offences of a particularly sensitive nature and arguing that there remains a real risk of interference with the evidence if the accused were to be released.

It submitted that, despite the ongoing proceedings, the accused had allegedly continued attempting to communicate with the minor children even though they did not wish to have contact with her. The prosecution further alleged that she had attended school activities where the children were present.

In reply, the defence argued that the accused had never breached any bail conditions and is not a recidivist.

After hearing submissions from both parties, the court rejected the request for bail, ruling that the proceedings are still at a very early stage and that several witnesses have yet to testify, making the granting of bail inappropriate at this stage of the proceedings. The court also issued a protection order in favour of the minor children.

The prosecution was led by Assistant Attorney General Mirayha Borg together with Police Inspector Ryan Vella.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono, Fleur Abela, Adreana Zammit and Eman Scicluna appeared for the accused.

Magistrate Elaine Rizzo presided over the case.