A teenager from Warrington who sexually assaulted and attempted to rape a female friend while they shared a bed has walked free from court.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday (Fri) that they had shared a bed before but this was the first time that Pedro Pereira had sexually touched her.
The next day he exchanged Instagram messages in which Pereira, who was then 17, told her “I hate myself because of it” and said “I betrayed your trust” and “It was such a mistake.”
Frank Dillon, prosecuting, told the court that he also told her, “I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t forgive myself…I don’t know what came over me.”
The defendant, who is now 18, also told her in the messages, “I was confused and my mind kept telling me it was fine and as soon as I did it I felt like the worst person in the world.”
Pereira, of Vulcan Close, Padgate, Warrington, pleaded guilty to attempted rape and two of sexual assault. A charge of rape, which he denied, was dropped and Mr Dillon said, ‘It had been a blundering attempt at penetration.”
The court heard that the incident happened in February last year. The girl, then 16, was woken up at 3am when she felt someone “trying to move her underwear”.
He got out of bed and then returned and tried to rape her. “The complainant confirmed that she did not consent to any sexual conduct.”
When the girl told her mum what had happened and they reported it to the police. When arrested and taken to the police station he made no comment when interviewed, said Mr Dillon.
In a victim impact statement, the girl said, “I cannot make sense of things, I cannot trust any more.”
She said she struggles with flashbacks and needed to take antidepressants. “The thought of bumping into him terrifies me….I am wary of everyone.”
Defence barrister, Jemma Gordon, said, “He is someone who not only understands the seriousness of what he has done but is also genuinely remorseful.
“It is a difficult situation because of the delay and now you are having to sentence Mr Pereira as an adult for offences he made as a child.”
The judge, Recorder John Hardy, KC, accepted the case was “exceptional and unusual.”
He told Pereira, “For some reason, you decided that you would take sexual advantage of her that night. The complainant and her mother considered going to the police but most exceptionally the police already knew about the allegations because you and your mother already called them, an act of tremendous responsibility.”
The judge sentenced him to 18 months detention suspended for two years. He also ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and imposed a ten year restraining order and ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.
