A bar owner was handed a four-year prison term after being found guilty of sexually molesting and harassing a 16-year-old waitress he had invited to his house to discuss cash flow.
The case followed the filing of a report by the victim during the early hours of 15 July 2023, when the teenager claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by her boss.
Testifying via video-conferencing, the victim explained that she was a student who had recently taken up a summer job as a waitress at a bar, with her responsibilities including serving customers, washing dishes and clearing tables.
At the end of her third shift, the victim’s boss asked both herself and her colleague to pass by his house, with the defendant stating that he wished to discuss cash flow.
Upon arrival, they found their boss with his wife.
According to the teenager, whilst her colleague and the wife had remained in the living room, she had been asked by her boss to go to the bedroom, where he asked her whether she had used illegal substances. Feeling quite uncomfortable, she answered in the negative.
They returned to the living room, where the waitress and her colleague were offered alcohol and cigarettes.
The teen later stated that she needed to leave so as to meet her family at the village feast, with her boss offering to book her a taxi. Once the taxi arrived, he walked her down the stairs and then kissed her on the lips, using his tongue, before she left. He furthermore grabbed her private parts over her skirt.
She later filed a police report along with her boyfriend.
The bar owner denied any wrongdoing, stating that he had asked the two employees to go to his house inasmuch as CCTV footage of the evening had made him suspect that the teenager was stealing money.
He added that he had only asked her to go to the bedroom as it was equipped with air conditioning, and that the teenager was upset when she left his home as he had told her not to return to work.
The court noted that the defendant’s version of events was less credible, noting that asking a teenager to follow him into the bedroom was unacceptable behaviour from the employer.
The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to a four-year prison-term. The court also ordered that the name of the defendant be placed on the sex offenders’ register, with a treatment order also being issued.
Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili represented the victim.
Police Inspector Daryl Borg prosecuted with the assistance of Attorney General lawyers Danika Vella and Shelby Aquilina.