Colombian DJ charged with rape, denied bail

A 32-year-old Colombian DJ residing in Paceville has been denied bail after being accused of rape after meeting the alleged victim at a nightclub.

The accused and the victim’s name could not be revealed due to a court ban.

Magistrate Nadine Lia is overseeing the court proceedings and heard the account of police inspector John Spiteri who described how the victim had requested a song from the DJ who then baited her into going to his home in Paceville.

The accused then proceeded to rape her and a day after messaged the victim via Instagram to apologise for what happened, Spiteri said.

Lawyers Rachel Tua and Edmund Cuschieri had requested bail on behalf of the accused after pleading not guilty. The prosecution then requested a ban on the publication of the name of the victim and this motion was contested by the defence who also requested a ban of the accused’s name.

Given that the accused 32 year old Colombian DJ had no ties to Malta, the prosecution requested the Magistrate to deny bail to the accused especially due to the victim not testifying yet in court.

The defence argued against this by stating that the accused shouldn’t be discriminated against because of his nationality. They also tried to argue that the victim had given a statement about the situation but Spiteri invalidated this argument by saying that the victim had only answered some questions relating to the medical and legal examination.

Lawyer Alfred Abela appeared parte civile for the victim and lawyer Darlene Grima appeared for the office of the Attorney General.