Before the arraignment, the accused lashed out at a policeman who had been guarding him in the corridor outside the courtroom when the officer removed the man’s handcuffs, sprinting away down the corridor before being apprehended again.

In an eventful arraignment, a man has been remanded in detention on charges of raping three women at separate massage parlors.

On Tuesday, Harona Conateh, a 32-year-old Gambian man who resides in Qormi, appeared in court before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech. He was accused with three counts of rape, each of which was committed against a different victim at three separate massage parlors in Sliema and Birkirkara.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation have reported that Conateh had bound one of his victims prior to raping her at the massage parlor where she was employed.

The suspect’s identity was determined through CCTV footage and informants, all of which depicted the same individual in the vicinity of the purported assaults. As a result, police patrols were directed to monitor the area for the suspect. He was ultimately apprehended by a patrol on Qormi Road in Hamrun.

Subsequently, the police conducted a search of the man’s residence and discovered the attire that was captured on the CCTV footage.

However, Conateh retaliated against a police officer who had been escorting him in the corridor outside the courtroom before the arraignment could commence. The officer had removed the man’s restraints, and Conateh sped away down the corridor.

The man was only able to travel a few meters before he was tackled by police officers and restrained. Despite being handcuffed, he continued to shout and struggle with officers, causing such a commotion that the magistrate herself exited the courtroom to observe the situation.

Ultimately, Conateh was brought under control and constrained with ankle and hand cuffs. The defendant was ordered by the court to remain in shackles while inside the courtroom due to his behavior.

Ilona Schembri, the legal aid counsel who had been assigned to represent Conateh, informed the court that her client was requesting to be returned to Gambia a few minutes prior to his escort into the courtroom. “Certainly.” The court responded by stating that the individual was not eligible for bail, as he had only a ‘permesso di soggiorno’ as his identification document. “You can even tell him I’ll drive him there myself,” the court said.

Upon the commencement of the arraignment, the antics persisted. Conateh informed the court that he was 20 years old; however, the prosecution emphasized that his documentation indicated his date of birth as February 2, 1992, which would have made him 32 years old.
The defendant stated that the date was incorrect and that it was “a mistake” through an interpreter. However, he was unable to modify his passport.

When requested by the court, Conateh was unable to provide his date of birth. He was also unable to recollect the month of his birth.

“Observe this location.” The magistrate stated, “You cannot claim that you are unaware of the month in which you were born.” “Has your family ever informed you?”
The witness responded, “My family is in Gambia.” He then suggested that the court contact his family via his phone to inquire.

The magistrate directed the prosecution to promptly call the man’s family and unseal his mobile phone, which had been seized as evidence. However, the man resisted, claiming that he was unable to recall the device’s password.

The defendant was refusing to activate his mobile phone in the presence of the police, citing privacy concerns, according to an interpreter. After the court informed the man that it would appoint an expert to “brute force” the password, he relented and disclosed his access code to the police.

It was observed that his Facebook account indicated his age as 16 years old and his date of birth as 2008. For the time being, the court mandated that the man’s age be determined by the information contained in his passport.

The individual informed the court that he “works in the road construction industry for Polidano” during the examination in chief.

The court inquired as to what the defendant was pleading in response to the accusations after confirming that he comprehended the allegations.
The Gambian-language interpreter responded in an unintelligible manner, “He stated that he did not commit the act, and there is one instance in which he paid a fee but did not commit the act.”

The magistrate, her patience having been exhausted, bellowed, “Is he pleading guilty or not guilty?”
The defense attorney entered a plea of not guilty. Bail was not requested.

Conateh then informed the court, “I am eager to return to my homeland.” The court, with its decorum now restored, requested that the interpreters “elucidate to the gentleman that he must first undergo these proceedings in Malta before he can return to Gambia.”

The magistrate clarified that the evidence would be considered prior to the decision. “It is a process that requires time, indeed.” This case will be resolved through a jury trial.

Conateh informed the court that he had paid money for a massage, but it was solely for that purpose. At that juncture, the prosecution assured the court that there was a substantial amount of evidence to demonstrate, as the court later stated, that “he desired and received much more than a massage.”

The interpreter clarified that he requested assistance from the court “in order that the prosecution or whatever entity may forgive him.” His attorney requested that the court document that statement.

The interpreter was summoned to the witness stand and requested to reiterate his previous statement for the record. “He declared his innocence.” He then stated that he desired to request assistance from the court in order to be forgiven.

The magistrate inquired, “For what purpose?” “The accusations leveled against him,” was the response. “His photographs are present,” the interpreter stated, alluding to the CCTV footage of the assaults.

The case was remitted to the registrar of courts for the purpose of assigning the acts to a magistrate for the purpose of evidence compilation.

The man was heard outside the courtroom after the sitting, requesting that the police officers escorting him dispatch him to Gambia and contact his wife.

The police will be determining whether to pursue additional offenses in relation to the escape attempt that occurred today.

Police inspectors Clayton Camilleri, Brian Xuereb, and Wayne Buhagiar were supported by prosecutors Angele Vella and Nicholas De Gaetano from the Office of the Attorney General.