Rape trial: 'We were all terrified of the demon,' accused told the police

Updated 5pm

A man who stands accused of raping his girlfriend's mother in 2018 told police during interrogation in 2019 that he as well as all the other members of the household were terrified of 'the demon'.

A recording of the interrogation was played in court on Wednesday as the man's trial continued.

Prosecutors allege that the 22-year-old raped the mother, forced her and her daughter to perform sexual activities and effectively held them hostage inside their own home. He is pleading not guilty. 

The interrogation was conducted by police inspectors Eman Hayman and Oriana Spiteri in the presence of lawyer Jason Azzopardi. 

In the recording, the accused - whose name cannot be published by court order - denied that he had any part in the abuse that occurred in the house, instead blaming “the voice of the demon” for injuring members of the household, including himself, and giving orders for “punishments”. 

The accused said that the entire family could hear the voice of the "demon," often while they were all in the same room, where, he said, it would have been obvious if one of them had been pretending to make the voice. 

The demon, he claimed, had on occasion given him...