Man accused of molesting niece remains in custody

PAPHOS court on Wednesday ordered that a 54-year-old, being detained in connection with sexually molesting his niece, 12, remain in custody until the next hearing, which was set for December 5.

The man appeared with a new lawyer, Evangelos Pourgourides.

The incident allegedly took place earlier in November in the Mouttalos suburb of Paphos, according to the girl’s family.

The suspect denies the accusations, claiming he had always treated the girl, his sister’s daughter, with fatherly affection and not in a lewd manner.

The girl had been examined by a state pathologist who did not find any external injuries.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.