Man given suspended sentence on charges of stalking journalist

A man caught photographing a sports journalist whom he had physically attacked just weeks earlier has been found guilty of stalking, among other offences.

Francis Muscat, 45, of Pembroke, was accused of grievously injuring Alvin Monseigneur on 23 September 2017 near the Luxol Grounds, of causing his victim to fear he would be physically attacked, of harassing and insulting him, and of recidivism.

During arraignment, Inspector Nikolai Sant, prosecuting, told the court how Monseigneur had informed him that the accused had, on Saturday, 4 November 2017, photographed him while he was working in the commentary box at Ħamrun’s Victor Tedesco Stadium.

In his detailed judgment on the case, Magistrate Joe Mifsud, himself a former sports journalist, gave an overview of the doctrines relating to the level of proof required for conviction and the evaluation of evidence.

On the charge of causing grievous bodily harm, the court observed that medical experts had established the injury as slight and so found Muscat guilty of causing slight injury.

With regard to the charge of causing the journalist to fear violence would be used against him and that of stalking, the court observed how the man had behaved threateningly towards Monseigneur on a number of occasions, once telling his colleague to pass on the message that “this doesn’t stop here.”

On the charge of uttering insults, the court noted that the time had come to increase the fines in such cases to make them an effective deterrent, noting that punishment for this offence ranged from “detention to a ridiculous maximum fine of €58.”

Muscat was cleared of the charge of recidivism, however, as no evidence supporting this charge had been brought.

In view of all this, the court handed the accused a six-month prison sentence, suspended for three years. Quoting the Court of Criminal Appeal, the magistrate highlighted the fact that “the suspended sentence is not, as some think, a let-off or a slap on the wrist. Those condemned to a suspended sentence must, during its operative period…[be on their best behaviour], because the moment they commit another imprisonable offence during that period, the suspended punishment is also activated and they must begin serving it.”

A three-year protection order was issued in favour of the victim and Muscat was ordered not to approach Monseigneur for a year or lose a personal guarantee of €2,000.