‘There Was A Lot Of Grooming’: Filmmaker Opens Up About Being Sexually Abused By Maltese Priest
Maltese filmmaker Dery Sultana has publically opened up about his trauma from being sexually abused as a child – by a priest.
Sultana recently was invited to Jon Mallia’s podcast, where he described what it was like to be groomed and sexually abused by a Maltese priest.
”There was this particular church, and there was this priest, I’d always seek him out because he was very interesting, very intelligent… and I used to spend a lot of time with him, and he’d always try to extend his hand, touching here and there,” Sultana said on Il-Podcast ta’ Jon.
He claimed that the abuse started at around the age of twelve and went on for a few years – however, he never thought of himself as a victim of it.
”I would always joke about it, whenever I saw him on the television, I’d say ‘dak nittien,” Sultana exclaimed, ”I never felt like a victim of abuse – it’s a lot of grooming, there’s an element of flirting, he gives you attention and entertainment”.
The priest would touch him in inappropriate places and had even tried to slide his hands down Sultana’s pants.
Decades later, Sultana opened a case against the priest.
”The case would continue to be investigated at the Vatican, not in Malta. I know (the priest) went to the Vatican, and I never heard anything again, they leave you in the darkness, the silence destroys you – I would dream about the event after years of never even considering it a trauma,” Sultana claimed.
Only recently, did he find out that the priest was found guilty, only to be liberated during the appeal.
Have you ever heard encountered sexual abuse in Malta’s church?
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