Man jailed for 18 months for sex attack

Jurgen Zahra, 26, from Zejtun has been jailed for 18 months after he was found guilty of violent indecent assault against an unsuspecting Hungarian woman.

The incident took place on 26 June 2011 during the early hours of the morning, where the accused was walking in the area of Birkirkara Road, St Julian’s. Mr Zahra had spotted the victim while driving. The man, who was drunk, began driving slowly next to her and tried to speak to her.

After she ignored his attempts the accused reversed the car, approached the victim and grabbed her hand. The woman ran off in the direction of the nearby playground. Out of breath, and having lost her glasses, she burst into tears and cried out for help. The victim noticed that a car, the same one that Mr Zahra was driving, had stopped by the playground with the door open and the lights on.

She could not see properly and therefore started screaming for help. At this point the accused approached her from behind and covered her mouth. He held her down and beat her into submission. Having delivered a number of violent blows to the head, Mr Zahra managed to drop his victim to the ground and removed the woman’s trousers. He was trying to remove her underwear when four foreign nationals heard her screams and screamed at the man to stop. The accused then drove off, but not before the group had had a chance to take down his car registration number.

Mr Zahra was charged with attempted rape, but the court could not find him guilty of such because the law states that there has to be contact between genitals. Magistrate Ian Farrugia, presiding over the case, commented that despite the obvious intentions, he must look at the case in accordance with the law, and could therefore not find him guilty of the most serious charge.

The accused was, however, found guilty of violent indecent assault, using violence to force the victim to commit acts against her will, causing her slight injury and offending her morals while in a public space. Mr Zahra was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, slapped with a €1,150 fine, and ordered to pay court expenses amounting to €1,644.