A 71-year old tourist has been charged with defiling a seven-year old girl in a St Paul’s Bay hotel pool on New Year’s Day.
The girl’s parents reported the incident to the police in Qawra on Thursday, alleging an “elderly, obese man wearing glasses” had made their daughter touch his penis while swimming in the indoor pool of a St Paul’s Bay hotel where they are all staying.
Officers went to the hotel and found the man by the indoor pool.
On Friday, Andrei Chirilov, from Romania, was accused of defiling the minor, committing non-consensual sexual acts and subjecting her to physical intimacy.
He was further charged with causing the minor to fear that violence would be used against her and committing an offence against decency or morals. He denied all the charges.
Testifying via videoconference, the girl, “AB”, explained that she and her family had arrived in Malta for a holiday three days before the alleged incident. The family is due to depart Malta next week.
The girl explained that they were at the indoor pool, where she had been playing and jumping into the water. The man, whom she described as having a “chubby belly” and wearing a pair of sky-blue trunks, “squished” her legs and then grabbed her arm and placed it under his clothes on his private parts twice. AB explained that she took out her hand twice.
AB also recalled the man telling her to tell him “I love you” but she said “I like you” instead.
Under cross-examination, legal aid lawyer Thomas Barbara Sant suggested that his client had asked her where she was from, and an adult next to her replied in her stead.
The girl could not recall why she told the man that she liked him.
Her mother, “CD”, then took the stand, explaining that the incident happened around noon. She said that there were families with children in the pool when this elderly man came alone to the shallow area of the pool where the children were.
The woman added that the accused was very friendly towards the children, and she even waved hello at him. At one point, the other children went away, and only AB remained with Chirilov.
CD explained that the “proximity” between the two was unusual, and that she could see the accused’s mouth moving, saying “look, look”, which was accompanied by a head movement as he looked down.
The woman called AB out of the swimming pool. When CD was with her daughter, she asked her what had been said. The girl told her mother that she told him that she likes him and that he touched her legs.
Asked by her mother if she had touched his body, the girl told her:“he put my hand inside” twice.
The mother said she was shocked and immediately informed her husband, who asked the hotel receptionist to call the police.
In the meantime, she remained in the indoor pool area, pacing up and down. There was another family with a child older than AB and another one younger than the alleged victim.
One of these children was swimming back to the shallow area, when CD warned them not to go near the accused.
The woman from the other family replied, “I know, my husband saw”, and CD went to the woman’s husband, who clarified that he felt something was wrong and had told his wife not to go to the shallow area of the pool.
The family were informed by the hotel manager that they had to go to the police station to file a report. It was then that CD’s husband took two photos and a short video of the suspect.
While at the police station, the family was informed that the suspect had been arrested at the indoor pool of their hotel.
In court, CD confirmed that Victim Support had not yet contacted them.
Bail was not requested at this stage, and the man was remanded in custody.
The case continues next week.
Magistrate Elaine Rizzo presided.
AG lawyer Cynthia Tomasuolo prosecuted, assisted by police inspectors Dorianne Tabone, Ryan Vella and Cheyenne Mangion.
Legal aid lawyer Thomas Barbara Sant assisted the accused.