A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after being found guilty of raping his girlfriend’s mother while pretending to be a demon.

Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera also found the man guilty of forcing the mother to rape a relative and engage in sexual acts, with the penalty aggravated because the victim was a vulnerable person.

Besides jail time, the man must also pay €8,000 in court expenses and will have his name listed in the sexual offenders’ register. A court protection order was also issued in favour of the victims.

When delivering her judgement this evening, Scerri Herrera described the case as a “macabre” one and said she was convinced that the accused, and not demonic forces, was behind the crimes.

She noted that while the accused was only 18-years-old and had a clean criminal record when the events took place, his actions brought misery on an entire family.

All names have been banned from publication by court order.

The disturbing case dates back to 29th January 2019 in a Marsaskala residence where the accused, who was 18 at the time, used to live with his girlfriend, who was a minor.

During the trial, the mother testified that she had heard voices giving her “satanic” orders, including to do her business on her balcony, use a broomstick to carry out sexual acts with a relative, and to get punched by her own daughter.

An exorcist was also summoned as a witness, where he said that he couldn’t observe any signs of demonic activity in the home.

However,  she said the voices stopped hearing when the accused was no longer present.