Defending the indefensible
The criminal defence lawyer Giannella Caruana Curran wrote this letter to The Times on behalf of St Michael’s independent school in Tal-Balal, trying to defend the court ban on the publication of the school’s name. At least she spared us any attempt at trying to defend the ban on Mark Vella Gera’s name, though that could be for the simple reason that he is not her client and in this case, the school is.
Funnily enough, the exact same letter, word for word, was carried in The Malta Independent on the same day, but signed rather enigmatically by somebody called simply ‘School Principal’. What school principal? Oh of course, after an entire letter which discusses a school while failing to mention its name, the school principal could hardly put her name, or the name of the school, to the letter. This is the full extent of the farce into which the court’s decision has tipped us.
As for Dr Caruana Curran’s pronouncements, from the other side of the fence this time, I would have been more inclined to bless them with credibility had she not been one of the lawyers defending the priests who molested small boys at St Joseph’s Home. It’s a free country and prominent defence lawyers are free to take up any brief that comes their way. That’s what they’re there for. But as public figures, they have to understand that they are as answerable for their actions and their choices as the next man (or woman).
Fortunately, St Joseph Home is now run by a very decent chap, but that doesn’t stop us wanting to know what’s happening in the mysteriously-disappearing-from-public-view trial of the molesters. That trial has been wrapped in a blanket of secrecy and silence because of a total ban on the publication of anything to do with it. The result is that we don’t even know whether it is happening, or whether it has equally mysteriously slipped out of the system.
That’s one reason why these bans are wrong-headed. They serve no interests but those of the perpetrators. We cannot see whether justice is being done, and when the case is concluded, if it is ever concluded, we will be unable to see whether justice has been done. The law clearly states that bans only apply while the trial/case is in progress, and that they do not apply at its conclusion. But how do we know when the case is concluded when we do not even know for certain that it is happening?
Saturday, 26th April 2008
Cyber abuse case
Giannella Caruana Curran, Advocate, Valletta.
I am instructed by the principal of the school that reported a case of cyber abuse by a former casual teacher who was eventually found guilty of the charges brought against him, to correct some misleading information published in certain sections of the media (not The Times) regarding the case in question and to set the record straight.
The facts were as follows:
1. The cyber abuse case in question happened when the person responsible was not a teacher at the school. In fact he only taught there for one term and this was in the year 2007.
2. The seven children contacted via internet were all from the senior school and none from the junior school, as has been erroneously stated or implied in certain media reports.
3. Immediately upon the school becoming aware of contact being made by this ex-teacher and a few of its students the school authorities took immediate action by informing the parents involved and held meetings with the children concerned. They did everything in their power to make sure that the abuse would be definitely stopped and the perpetrator brought to justice.
This they did by giving all the details and information to Inspector P. Caruana from the Cyber Crime Unit, and Inspector Louise Calleja from the Vice Squad, in order to ensure the arrest of the perpetrator. In fact it was thanks to the immediate action taken by the school and the police authorities that the abuse was not only stopped, but within 48 hours the man was investigated, arraigned in court and sentenced.
4. The school authorities, and this also in pursuance of its policy on internet safety for students, immediately organised a talk for all the parents and students of the school, inviting as guest speakers people from the Cyber Crime and Vice Squad Units together with a representative from Appoġġ. This talk is scheduled to be held next Tuesday.
5. The court presumably deemed fit a ban on publication of the school’s name in order to make it harder for the names of the minors involved to be known. In this way it also protects those very minors’ vulnerability. The ban also protects the other students of the same school from being picked on or slandered by students of other schools. It is also correct to protect the reputation of a school or institution which has done nothing wrong but only instigated and helped in the prosecution of the wrongdoer in order that he be stopped and brought to justice.
Furthermore the mantle of anonymity of the school and the children will encourage other persons or institutions to come forward to help the police in their investigations, thus helping to ensure the prosecution of paedophiles and other criminals without the fear of any negative publicity or exposure of their students and themselves.
The court decided on the ban of the name of the minors and the school in the best interest of the victims involved, the other children attending the same school and the name of the school. This the court did as a result of its experience in such matters, in order to encourage victims to come forward.
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Is this serious? Points 1 to 4 in Dr. Caruana Curran’s letter are fine with me, but Point 5 cannot be taken seriously by any person of some intelligence. Pray tell us, Dr. Caruana Curran, how do you interpret this court ruling? How can you, by naming the school, drill down to the names of the poor victims? I don’t have any idea of the size of the school mentioned, but I gather there are a bit more than 20 students in this school… how can you come up with the names of the victims?
Are court sentences re-read before making them public and inflicting them on us?
Indeed this is freedom of information in action.
Such ‘pervert’ behaviour should be on all front pages and the photo of the abuser should on all papers and billboards.Preventing similar abuses from such ‘perverts’ is paramount.
What a shame.
I think this is the key sentence in point 5:
“The ban also protects the other students of the same school from being picked on or slandered by students of other schools.”
In my humble opinion I think she’s correct, there is lot of competition especially when it comes to private schools. I think it’s no news that people consider students from St. Aloysius to be the snobs, the ones at St. Edwards are rich kids with no brains, etc. Being called a snob is one thing, being called abused, etc, is another! There is also already a trend of picking on boys who have attended a church school … so I don’t think it’s a bad idea to avoid providing more fuel for such insults.
ps: I know people who have attended the above mentioned schools, and while I confirm that some of the statements are true for some, for most it is not!!
The ban also protects the other students of the same school from being picked on or slandered by students of other schools.
Din hija skuza banali. It-tfal isibu kull raguni biex jaqbdu ma’ xulxin, u jinku, jinsultaw u joffendu lil xulxin. It-tifel tieghi ghandu seba’ snin, imur skola tal-gvern. Meta hu u shabu tilfu kwizz fuq stazzjon tar-radju, it-tfal minn skola tal-Knisja li rebhu l-kwizz inkewhom u ghajruhom ghax imorru skola tal-gvern, u meta gie lura d-dar qalli b’qalbu maqsuma b’kollox. Ma ndahhkux nies, Gianella, mela. Il-court’s ban saret biex tipprotegi lil hadd ghajr lill-pedoflu in kwistjoni u mhux lit-tfal, u min hareg bil-ban’s court jafu ben tajjeb dan. U l-pedofli xihaga hekk iridu ha jissoktaw ihejju u jonsbu x-xbieki malinni taghhom ghall-innocenti.
Why even bother arguing about whether a ban is a good idea? It’s the effect it creates and not the motive behind it that matters. Mark Vella Gera’s behaviour at St Michael’s school in Qormi was kept under wraps. That’s why he was able to get another job in another school and do the same thing all over again.
Whether MVG is a pervert or a sick man the fact is that he has harmed a number of children. If there was a way to protect further children from his attention I would agree to keeping things under wraps but I can`t think how they could be protected unless his name is made public. In a way MVG is also being protected from getting into more serious trouble.
By the way, some teenage children who attend the school in question don`t agree with me. They treated the SMS`s with disdain and thought it all one big joke. They couldn`t understand what the fuss was all about. They don`t realise the tragedy that would have occurred if even one child had responded .
@ Carmel Scicluna – Fil-kwizz li qed tirreferi ghalih int, meta kien imisshom De la Salle kontra l-iskola tal-gvern tal-Birgu, tghidx kemm haduha bi kbira De la Salle ghax rebhu skuzi l-iskola tal-gvern tal-Birgu! De la Salle ma setghu jikkunslaw b’xejn imsieken!
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Who cares what the intentions were? It’s the result that matters.
@Marika Mifsud – it’s normal for self-confident teenagers of either gender to bait sad old men who are interested in them (though try explaining this to a man who thinks a teenage girl is genuinely interested in him). It’s also normal for them to lack the maturity to see what a danger this kind of behaviour poses to less self-confident teenagers and even more so to pre-pubescent boys (and girls). Teenagers know the mechanics of sex but have very little grasp of the implications. But then again, they’re not really meant to.
@ Bozza ta’ l-Elf – grazzi ta’ l-informazzjoni.
Lit-tfal tieghi skola tal-gvern qed nibghathom u se nibqa’! L-ebda bluff ta’ xi soru tiftahar bl-iskola taghha mhu se jikonvincini nibghathom skola tal-Knisja! Il-flus infaddalhom biex insiefer u ngawdi mal-familja tieghi … mela ntihom lil xi soru! U, fuq kollox, l-edukazzjoni tan-nar tibda mid-dar!
Daphne says: “That’s one reason why these bans are wrong-headed. They serve no interests but those of the perpetrators…. The law clearly states that bans only apply while the trial/case is in progress, and that they do not apply at its conclusion.”
And I ask: “So has the learned magistrate gone beyond his call of duty – or indeed powers – in proclaiming such a ban post-trial? Is it possible he made a MISTAKE?!”
Then I ask further: “As a point of procedure, are magistrates asked to declare no conflict of interest before accepting to hear a court case? As we all know, Malta zghira u….”
@Mixx – yes, the magistrate went beyond the law. The law gives magistrates and judges absolute discretion when banning part or all information about/discussion on a court case or trial while it is ongoing. At its conclusion, he/she may ban only the names of minors and of the victims of certain forms of abuse – certainly not that of the party found guilty or not guilty.
Why bother to name and shame THIS particular pervert and not all others before him, may I ask ?
[Moderator – Because it is the state’s duty to publish a register of sex offenders. This is not about naming and shaming, in any case, it is about preventing the paedophile Mark Vella Gera from coming into contact with children. If it weren’t for the publication of his name here, some parents would have sent their children on one of his ‘weather camps’.]
@PiNo – let us have some other names and we’ll publicise them – no problem.
Dear Daph, can you please clarify which school is in question? you mention St micheal’s in Tal balal, whereas corinne states it’s St Micheal’s in Qormi. These are two different schools. One is independent and the one in Qormi is church run. I do wish to know, since my young son attends St Micheal’s (independent school) kindergarten.
[Moderator – He taught at both, and he only managed to do so because the first school did not raise the alarm bells.]
@Janine: Moderator’s right. The pervert ended up teaching in the independent school only because the church-run school did not deem whatever info it had in hand to be of sufficient import to merit informing the police, in the first place. And for that matter, neither did Mother Curia….
….. What are you worried about? It was only thanks to the independent school’s authorities that this man’s underhandedness was uncovered. Now THAT’S responsibility for you!
Dear Mixx, you ask what worries me? well first of all, we all kn ow how the curia reacts to such issues….sweeping them all under the carpet. But that’s not what really worries me. My question is with St micheal’s good reputation and very good teaching methods(the reason why we chose this school for our son)
who conducted this man’s interview? As far as I know, when one applies for a job, one is questioned about one’s previous occupation especially teaching jobs and the inteviewee should investigate at least that’s what I would do especially with child abuse becoming so common.I would pick up the phone and enquire with the other school why this creep was dismissed. Noone is to be trusted in this day and age even the most soft spoken, angelic person on earth. So where was the seriousness I ask? It’s not about responsibility here.Remember I trust my son with these people for 7 hrs of the day and pay good money for it so I expect things to be done seriously, Do you get it now????
Janine – How right you are.
Basically, the school in question – assuming that it carried out all the necessary checks prior to employing Mark Vella Gera (including questioning “gaps” in employment, and having in hand any references from previous employers) – had no logical reason to encourage the ban on the publication of it’s own name.
The notion that the ban on the publcation of the name of the school is that it was intended to protect the victims and to encourage other victims to come forward is simply ridiculous. Other victims would be more likely to come forward knowing that the police have already got this man’s name, and hence knowing that the police would be more likely to believe them. As for protecting the victims who testified in the court case, I firmly believe that they themselves would rather that the ban on the publication of Mark Vella Gera’s name is lifted.
The sad thing is, the first school (St Michael’s MUSEUM Boys’ School in Qormi) kept things under wraps, leaving this man free to get another teaching job; the second school (St Michel’s Foundation School in Tal-Balal), despite reporting the case to the police, seem to be defending the court’s actions in banning the publication of their own name.
The end result is that, with Mark Vella Gera’s name being banned from publication, along with the fact that he was given a 2-year sentence SUSPENDED for 4 years*, means that this man is still free to prey on other children, virtually or otherwise.
* meaning that he will not be imprisoned unless he commits – and is found guilty of – another crime within the next 4 years, which not many people, unfortunately, seem to have understood
Janine – I did not agree with you about one thing, though. The fact that you pay the school your children attend should not even come into it. All schools – Church, state-run, private or otherwise – should have the proper mechanisms in place when taking school staff on board (be they teachers, cleaners, maintenance staff or whatever), to ensure the safety of “their” children.
The fact that this is a fee-paying school maybe makes parents more irate, though. The fact that it is a fee-paying school could also possibly be the reason why the school encouraged (or at least did not seem to object to)the ban on the publication of their name. Though, of course, that would be a ridiculous assumption, seeing that schools should carry out the necessary checks when employing staff. Ah well …
Janine: Mark Vella Gera taught at St Michael’s School in Qormi and then at St Michael’s School at Tal-Balal. He was removed from the Qormi school for messing around but the school’s reported the matter to the curia and not to the police, after which he was banned from teaching in a church school. This meant, in effect, that he was not banned from non-church schools and so could get a job in one – which he did. And it meant that he could continue fooling around – which he did too. Then the courts revoked his teaching warrant and banned publication of his name. And THAT meant he could still be in contact with children because no one was supposed to know who he was. Adverts for his weather club for 15+ were still appearing recently, and there’s no teaching warrant involved there.
I suppose that the head of St Michael’s School Qormi was thrilled and ecstatic when MVG stopped teaching at his school. Most probably he must have reasoned out that the matter was closed as far as he was concerned. There was no risk that MVG would be messing around with boys at his school and tarnishing the image of his Church School. That MVG would continue abusing children elsewhere was certainly not his problem.It is obvious that reporting the abuse to the Response Team of the Curia is simply a waste of time. Similar abuse must be reported to the police straight away if we want to put a stop to additional damage.
Amanda- you’re right about the fact that its irrelevant whether we pay for out childrens’ education or not but it does irritate a bit more when one pays through one’s nose to get a proper education. The fact is that thanks to the Qormi school being so laissez faire about his dissmissal and st micheal’s penbroke being so careless about employing a monster, more kids were abused. And now thanks to them and our courts, there’s still a predator out there who most probably is sharking more kids because lets face it once he got away with it, he’ll do it again this time more discreetly perhaps. I’m utterly appalled !!!
Janine – I would be just as angry if my children attended a Government school (instead of the private one they are at) if I knew that not enough care is taken when staff are employed. My point is that whether or not you pay for your child’s education, you should still be able to assume that their safety would be considered a priority by the school.
Having said that, yes, I too am angry and frustrated at a system which has left a predator free to prey on our children. The law has protected Mark Vella Gera, but apparently protection of our children from him is considered to be less important in the eyes of the law.
The question of payment or no payment for one’s child education is totally out of context. A child is a child, no matter what school he/she attends and his/her interests must be safeguarded at all times especially when left with people for most of the day (as is the case in a school). I honestly believe that the Curia is very much at fault since no applicant will go to an interview and foolishly declare that he was kicked out of his previous school, but the Curia has jurisdiction over the teachers of religion wherever they teach whether government, private or church schools. The Head of school who conducted the interview is cetainly not to blame but the Curia should have made sure that this beast does not come in contact with children any more. It’s high time that we have a register of sex offenders.
Maria – The Curia weren’t bothered about keeping Mark Vella Gera away from children; they simply made sure that he was not allowed to teach in another church school (and, supposedly, away from MUSEUM activities, though I’m not convinced about that).
The court, meanwhile, has not protected ALL children from Mark Vella Gera either – The ban on his name, coupled with supposed withdrawal of his teacher’s licence, and a ban on him working (teaching?) at “institutions attended by children” leaves many opportunities for him to come into contact with other children, the most obvious of which is the weather club he was advertising until recently – “Weather club for boys and girls aged 11 – 15 years”, the adverts of which mentioned sleepovers in a farmhouse in Gozo and trips to Sicily.
@Janine: Hi Janine, yes I had got you loud and clear from the start, and evidently so had the others cos they clarified a number of points before I had the time to myself! ;o)) On a more serious note, I agree with all the others about the fee issue – our kids should be protected irrespective. I’ve got two kids in the Junior and Senior schools, so believe you me, I pay much much more – so does that mean the school should protect mine more than yours?!? I wouldn’t think so.
Next point: I’ve spoken to the school about the case and asked most of the questions you’re asking now. (Incidentally, why didn’t you too?!) Anyway, just for info…. (1) MVG never included the St Michael’s Qormi teaching experience in his CV, nor did he refer to it in his interview (for obvious reasons of course), so the School didn’t even know about it let alone was in a position to ask for a reference from that school; (2) MVG attended the interview with his MUSEUM badge – to misguide perhaps? I thought he had been “discharged” from MUSEUM; (3) The school did ask for references from the institutions referred to in MVG’s CV prior to employing him for 3 months last year – MVG had declared he was teaching English to foreign students at the time, while designing websites too. At that point, what more could you ask for when seeking to employ a teacher of Religion and I.T.? He must have seemed like manna from heaven.
Yes, “wara kulhadd bravu”. Perhaps the school could have chased after the Curia during October and November, and not in January, for the coveted “idonju” (the Curia certificate required re any Religion teacher), but everyone knows the bureaucracy that exists in such institutions anyway so they probably just gave it more time. In fact, when in the beginning of January the Curia did not give the school its reasons for keeping the idonju “pending”, the school just told the teacher to pack his bags and leave right away – either get the idonju or a letter of resignation by tomorrow morning.
And that’s how MVG gave the school his letter of resignation ……
@Mixx – you call it “bureaucracy”, I call it “conspiracy of silence”.
@Louise: Yes Lou, that’s exactly what the Curia did – conspired in silence. Just imagine if the guy had been employed to teach I.T. only – or indeed any subject other than Religion – and thus wouldn’t have needed the Idonju, then there would’ve been no way the school would have caught onto the fact that there was something fishy about him. Remember – he contacted our kids as an ex-teacher, months after he was asked to resign for no reason apparent at the time.
We parents must join forces and insist with our parliamentary representatives:
(a) for a Register of Sex Offenders,
(b) for stiffer penalties when the law brings them to charge before our Courts, and
(c) to enforce civil obligations on our institutions to report any suspected cases of child abuse – EVEN WHERE PROOF IS NOT AT HAND. This “conspiracy of silence” is simply not on!
Mixx – Though my kids attend a different private school (not St Michael’s), I’m glad you clarified the bit about the CV. I would hate to think that a school would not consider it important to have references in hand prior to employing ANY staff.
As for the MUSEUM badge, what can I say? A friend of mine confirmed that she is 100% sure that last year he was even wearing it to work at Malta Weather. Appearances ARE deceptive, and you certainly can’t judge a book by its cover.
With regards to the Curia, it is a real shame that – possibly for want of not causing further scandal – they prefer to keep things under wraps, leaving more children open to abuse by such perpetrators. Some conscience!
Mixx- You ask me why I didn’t ask the school principal by what criteria they employed this monster. Well if you must know I heard about this story through a friend who received the email with his picture and she told me that he taught at a different school to the one my son attends. By chance I happened to browse through this blog and was shocked to have seen the name of St Michael’s school crop up. Remember the name of this person and the school was never revealed in the media and I can assure you that many parents are still unaware of the name of the school. Anyway thanks for the information. With regards to fees or no fees being paid I simply implied that since I pay my hard earned money for my child’s education, I expect things to be done very seriously because lets face it, the reason why we send our kids to private schools is because we get better results than state schools otherwise we wouldn’t have a problem with these schools would we?
Here we go again, protecting the perpetrators, with the paultry excuse that the ban on their name is to protect the children:
(Extracted from http://www.timesofmalta.com, just now)
“Tuesday, 6th May 2008 – 13:28CET
Driver denies screening porn film in school bus
A 25 year old driver this morning pleaded not guilty to screening a pornographic film in a school bus full of children.
Defence counsel Anglu Farrugia told a court that the driver, whose name cannot be published by court order to protect the children, did not know what was on the DVD, which the children had asked him to screen. (The DVD was not supplied by the children, as previously reported)
Dr Farrugia said there was no bad intention on the part of the driver .
The incident allegedly happened yesterday as the bus was being driven between Gudja, Ghaxaq and Sta Lucija. The children, all girls, were aged between nine and 14.
The driver was granted bail on a personal guarantee of €5,000 and banned from approaching the school.”
It would be far better if children are protected from these people, instead of simply protecting the perpetrators and the reputation of the school concerned, because it looks like that’s what it is all about.
When are we ever going to learn?
(I wonder who the magistrate was this time.)
And the lawyer would have to be Anglu … (“Bad intention” – Intenzjoni hazin” …)
I see no reason for hiding the name as I cannot see how one could identify the children (or even the school for that matter) from the name of a bus driver.
However, to be 100% honest I do not think that this guy should be labelled a paedophile based on this particular incident. I agree he is a bit of an idiot but in this case it could be a genuine mistake to play that particular dvd.
Maybe I’m wrong but in this case a good ticking off would have sufficed in my opinion.
@David,
Most probably the DVD was left there from the previous ‘night out’….. stupid mistake, but nothing more, nothing to write home about.
Amanda – The more I read and hear of these stories, the more disgusted and disilussioned I get with this country.
Mixx- By the way,you wrote that Mr Vella Gera was employed by St Michael school after he turned up for the interview wearing a M.U.S.E.U.M badge and got the job. Who are these people running around with badges on their chests anyway? The divine ones or what? He also claimed he taught in a language school teaching English. Come on please what’s the big deal? Most people with some free time on their hands can do this.As with designing websites, does not land you a teaching job either. So I ask: is that all it takes for one to get a teaching job? Because if so then I can teach too. Being a ‘socju’ for a few hours a week and teaching English to foreign students does not in any way qualify anybody to teach in any of our schools. This ‘man’ is apparentely in his late 30’s or so. What was he doing ever since he graduated as a teacher (if he really did)? This is where i question the seriousness of the school. I’m sorry but no matter how many lame excuses you or any other defender of the school will come up with, the school’s name has been tarnished and this could have been avoided. Nothing will convince me otherwise.
its funny really. However, who procured the DVD after all? and why did the children want the driver to screen it?
Janine – Please do not label me as “a defender of the school”. I am probably just as angry as you are, despite the fact that my children attend a different school.
To all the rest – It would be men who would come up with excuses to defend the driver, wouldn’t it? Maybe that’s why the court – when the magistrate is a male – comes up with such lame excuses for the ban on the publication of the name, and with such lenient sentences.
Ironically, it was a female magistrate who had the balls (metaphorically speaking, of course) to name a man CHARGED (not found guilty, please note) with sexually abusing a girl then aged 6, and this on the day before Mark Vella Gera’s case:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080422/local/charged-with-defiling-girl-aged-six
Guys, cool down – if this twit of a driver is innocent of anything other than being a twit, given the current level of (I hesitate to say) hysteria, he should be given the protection of anonymity. If he is eventually found guilty, of course, he should be branded.
Amanda,
Please don’t make this a men vs women thing because it’s not. The chances are that this guy is, as Andrew Borg Cardona put it, a twit.
I find it a bit hard to believe that anybody would be stupid enough to try abusing a bus load of girls aged 9 to 14. Most girls that age, especially today, are even sharper then boys that age and be honest, do you think any of them are going to be scarred for life by that? They probably had a great laugh about it.
At least with boys that age, getting hold of porn is something they all try to do, I am not saying it’s good but at the end of the day I think it’s quite normal. Yes, I will still forbid my sons from doing it but I honestly doubt I will be 100% successful.
I agree that twit should be reprimanded or even fined but let’s not rush to cast him with the likes of Mark Vella Gera.
Andrew Borg Cardona & David Buttigieg – OK, I realise that this man is probably just some brainless twit, but it simply does not give him the (moral) right to get away with the anonymity business with the poor excuse that it’s TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN.
True, the law does allow the name to be banned unless he is found guilty, but what if the case drags on for years? (Not that having a name such as Joe Borg would be of any help, I must admit.)
David Buttigieg – As for your comment regarding porn, I doubt you’d think it OK if one of your sons, when he is an adult aged 25 years, would share his “collection” with a bus-load of young kids – apart from the fact that there’s also such a thing called “grooming”. Who knows what the man’s next step would have been?
My eldest daughter is almost eight, one year younger than some of the girls on that bus. No, David, I do not believe she would have laughed it off.
As for your comments regarding girls that age (14) being sharper than their male contemporaries, judging by some of the comments posted here, I could safely say that they may even be sharper than some adults. That still wouldn’t give the driver the right to screen porn on their school bus.
Amanda Mallia: You seem to imply that girls aged 14 are chaste, unblemished, virgins and go around their lives praying not to be shown anything which would offend their morals. They could be like that in the place where you come from but what about your disgusting South, the region you detest so much coz it votes mostly Labour? Aren’t they a bit looser and more ignorant down there?
Amanda,
The point I am trying to make is that the chances are the twit in question was not “trying to share” his porn with them but accidentally screened a bit of it. Of course I don’t know if he screened the whole film or a minute or so until he realised what was going on.
The thing is if he were grooming them I doubt that he would be silly enough, even though we agree he is a twit, to do so to a whole bus full but rather would have waited till there were a few girls left.
And your doubts about whether I would approve a 25 yr old sharing porn with any kid are certainly correct. I also agree that the driver did not have the right to screen porn on any bus let alone a kids school bus, but if (IF) it was an accident I don’t think we need to crucify this guy.
But anyway, I don’t have all the facts (in fact I have next to none) and am basing my argument on the ASSUMPTION that he screened the film accidentally.
If it turns out to be more than an accident I promise you I will apologise to you cap in hand and eat humble pie!
Hang on Mcomb,
Never mind your ridiculous comment about labour south, no matter how “loose” a child is they are still children.
Actually calling a child loose is rather sick!
Mcomb – It seems that my comment of 2052hrs crossed yours of 2135hrs. I guess I’ve explained myself in that one.
As for the remaining part of your comment, please don’t put words into my mouth. With regards to your comment regarding “the south”, the people who refer to it as such are generally the ones who come from there – everyone else simply refers to places by their names, including places from “the south”, as you chose to put it.
As for the remaining part of your comment, please don’t put words into my mouth. And, more importantly, DON’T DEVIATE FROM THE ORIGINAL SUBJECT.
David Buttigieg – “Accidents” like that (if it were an accidnet at all) don’t just happen …
Amanda,
Also I agree that “to protect the children” is a poor excuse, after all who on earth would recognise a child from the name of a bus driver – I remember my bus driver in school was named Pawlu but that’s about it!
Amanda,
I think it’s rather pointless arguing on this, you are going to think I have a reason to defend this guy! In reality I love debating.
Anyway, if this twit is more than a simple twit then I hope he is named and shamed ASAP and I am glad he was caught early. If he is just a simple twit well then let’s not crucify him ..
Also I admit that if I had a son or daughter on that bus I would probably have felt angrier, accident or not
David Buttigieg – I know what you mean, and in fact commented that should he be named Joe Borg it wouldn’t be much help. (In fact Mark Vella Gera must be annoyed that his own name is unique …)
The thing is, if these people know that they are protected by law, it’s not much of a deterrent. The fact that their name is not made public also gives them a greater chance of finding employment in some other place concerning children.
Re the above case, the school has now been named as St Monica’s School, Gzira, The Times online article having since been adjusted.
Once the school has been named, saying that the man’s name has been banned from publication “to protect the children” is still a pretty lame excuse. Ah well, presumed innocent until proven guilty, I suppose …
I had first hand experience of this horror.
He was my teacher of I.T. .
I feel really ashamed that he did that crime and i feel very strange for he had mentioned pornography more than one in class and homesexuality.He would always sweat and move his hands in a funny way.I will never forget this experience and never forgive!
Hi. Im looking for Janine whom I studied with in England. I’m currently in South Africa. She is a qualified beauty therapist and possibly married to a guy called Chris!
Please help if you know her.