11-year-old schoolboy cleared of bullying

An 11-year-old boy has been cleared of bullying a fellow classmate and of holding him against his will after a court found that the evidence was too convoluted and inconsistent. Magistrate Doreen Clarke ruled that the evidence produced in court was not enough to find the schoolboy guilty of bullying another boy at school. He had been accused, along with another three boys, of bullying another boy when they tied him to a football post with a scarf in the school yard. The incident took place on March 1, 2011 in Stella Maris School in Gzira. The accused, who hails from Birkirkara, was cleared after Magistrate Clarke found inconsistencies in the details of the case and on the involvement of each of the accused. The prosecution had requested the separation of judgment and the case against the other boys had pleaded guilty to the charges. They had been conditionally discharged. Lawyer Roberto Montalto appeared for the fourth boy who had, from the outset, denied his involvement in the case. Inspector Anne Marie Micallef prosecuted.