The Gozo diocese said it had no comment to make in the wake of a court judgment which confirmed a priest brokered a deal to pay a Nadur family €7,000 to drop their claim that their 14-year-old daughter had been raped by the brothers of an MP.
Fr Michael Said, a relative of the accused, acted as an intermediary in the payment in 2008, allegedly telling the family it would be better to accept the money to fund psychological support for the girl rather than undergo the trauma of court proceedings. The girl’s parents testified they accepted the money but later regretted the decision.
The payment allegedly took place on September 15, 2008, one day after the family filed a police report claiming their daughter had been raped by brothers Josef Said and Peter Paul Said and sexually touched by her sister’s fiancé, Mark Lorry Said. The girl later told police that a fourth man, Peter Paul Debono, had also raped her separately.
Josef Said and Peter Paul Said are brothers of Nationalist Party MP and former minister Chris Said, who was a parliamentary secretary when the report was filed.
All four accused were acquitted. A court of appeal this month upheld the initial ruling, finding that the law at the time allowed prosecution for rape without the victim’s consent only if the alleged acts occurred in a public setting.
The court noted that the alleged assaults took place inside a car parked in a private yard, at a construction site and at a hotel – all considered private settings. Laws have since been amended to allow prosecution of rape cases without the victim’s consent regardless of where the alleged crime occurred.
Times of Malta had revealed the story back in 2008.
Testimony published recently showed that Fr Said “pressured” the victim and her family to accept the payment and withdraw the complaint.
The victim later testified she was paid €120,000 as part of an agreement that included the settlement of a civil case. Testimonies only link Fr Said to the initial €7,000 payment, which was made on behalf of two of the accused.
Repeated attempts for a reaction from Fr Said since Friday drew no answers. The Gozo Curia said yesterday it had no comment to make while the Gozo Church’s safeguarding commission did not reply.
Peter Paul Said, Josef Said and Peter Paul Debono were found not guilty by the appeals court of raping the girl between 2007 and 2008. Mark Lorry Said was also acquitted of corrupting a minor through lewd acts.
The court ruled that the victim’s withdrawal of her complaint prevented prosecution, as the law at the time required the victim’s backing. The defence also established that the alleged assaults occurred on private property.
Peter Paul and Josef Said are brothers of Chris Said, who later served as justice minister between 2012 and 2013 and currently sits as a PN MP.
Asked whether he was aware of the agreement, Chris Said said: “I was never involved in any way in the agreement reached, and I never had any contact with the victim, her relatives, or her lawyers. I became aware of the agreement from the case records.
“I condemn everything that is illegal. However, I have no doubt that, had there been anything illegal, the police would have taken action and the court, both in the first judgment and in the appeal judgment, would have ordered an investigation to be carried out, as has happened on several occasions,” he added.
‘A donation for the girl’
Police first approached the victim’s parents on September 14, 2008, after the family filed a criminal complaint.
Inspector Graziella Muscat testified that the following day, September 15, the family’s lawyer informed her they no longer wished to proceed. Despite this, Muscat continued the case ex officio.
When questioned on September 17, the mother said she had not wanted to halt proceedings but had been told her daughter would suffer further trauma and that the family had been given €7,000 to withdraw the complaint.
Muscat testified that the mother said Fr Said had suggested giving the girl money to pay for a psychologist, private lessons and other support.
The family received €7,000 in cash, while a larger sum was held by a lawyer as a guarantee that the accused would not approach the girl.
Testifying in 2010, the victim’s mother said that, besides Fr Said, another brother of the accused, Reuben Said, had attempted to broker an out-of-court settlement. She described suffering significant stress, including fainting and spending a night in hospital.
The victim’s father confirmed in 2008 that he had signed the withdrawal of the complaint but said he had not been in the right state of mind and had been pressured by third parties, including the priest and members of the accused’s family.
In testimony given in 2009, Fr Said said he had advised the family not to “inflate” matters and to seek a civil solution. He said he knew a payment would be made as a “donation” for the girl but did not know the amount.
Reuben Said confirmed there was an agreement for the family to receive €7,000, while Lm10,000 (about €23,000) would be retained by a lawyer to ensure the brothers did not contact the girl.
Testifying in 2020 as a defence witness, the victim confirmed she had renounced the complaint and that an agreement had been reached.
She said she received €120,000 from the accused in relation to civil damages.
The victim’s testimony
In earlier proceedings, the victim described the alleged abuse.
She said she was first raped during Mnarja weekend (June 28 and 29), when, aged 13, she met Josef Said for the first time and went with him to his car. He locked the vehicle and drove to a work yard where the family kept trucks, where she said he raped her. She testified this was her first sexual experience.
“She tried to get out of the car, but the door could not be opened because it was locked. She did not like what Josef Said had done to her, but she pushed him away in vain,” the court judgment states.
Speaking in October 2008, the victim said Peter Paul Said first approached her a week later near her home, asking for her mobile number. She refused, but he obtained it and repeatedly called her to meet, sometimes up to six times a day.
On one occasion, he saw her on her way to private lessons, opened his car door and she entered. He drove her to Ta’ Duru, a construction site, where they entered through a window.
She testified that Peter Paul penetrated her there and that similar incidents occurred almost weekly at Ta’ Duru, the Grand Hotel construction site and empty garages in Nadur.
The victim said that during the first incident at Ta’ Duru, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it when she resisted and threatened her with “serious trouble”.
She also testified that Peter Paul Debono had threatened to kill her if she did not go to his garage, where he allegedly raped and sexually assaulted her.
Mark Lorry Said, her sister’s boyfriend, was accused of touching her inappropriately over four years, starting when she was 10.