Man placed on Sex Offenders' Register

A 55-year-old man from Zabbar was today jailed 18 months suspended for three years and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for masturbating in front of a 12-year-old girl in December 2003. The girl had been walking along a road in Xghajra at 7.30 a.m. to get to her school transport. She saw the man, Carmelo Darmanin, inside a garage with the door open, who, as soon as he saw her, undressed and started to masturbate. When the girl reached the school bus stop she spoke about the incident with another two girls who said he had also done the same thing to them. Mr Darmanin argued that he had an enlarged prostate and had been touching his private part because he was trying to urinate, something that was difficult for him to do because of his condition. But Magistrate Audrey Demicoli said she did not believe him as he had a bathroom he could have used only a few steps away. Magistrate Demicoli also pointed out that the case had been assigned to her in 2012 after it had been pending for judgement since July 2011.