Man Jailed For 5 Years After Sexually Abusing Underaged Girl In Paceville
A 51-year-old French man has been sentenced to five years and four months in jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in Paceville.
Lionel Seux changed his mind and pleaded not guilty to accusations of sexually abusive acts done in September 2021, the Times of Malta reported.
During the compilation of evidence in Court, it was revealed that Seux accompanied a 16-year-old girl to a club’s bathroom at around 1am on 20th September.
Once inside, he locked the door – not letting her leave, undressed both himself and her, and touched her and himself inappropriately. The girl was only let out of the bathroom due to the constant banging on the door by her friends that stopped the 51-year-old from going further with his crime.
Seux decided to plead guilty to all the charges after the prosecution rested its case and he was convicted of non-consensual sexual advances with a minor and of holding the girl against her will.
The magistrate noted that while the accused had pleaded guilty to the charges, his admission came at a late stage in the legal process after the prosecution presented all its witnesses. Consequently, he was ineligible for the maximum reduction in sentence typically granted to those who enter an early guilty plea.
Besides the length of the sentence, the magistrate ordered that the time he spent in preventive custody be reduced from the jail time. He was also ordered to pay just under €5,100 in court expenses related to the appointment of court experts.
Police inspectors John Spiteri and Leeroy Balzan Engerer prosecuted.
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