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A man who sexually abused a young girl, and whose offences only came to light after the victim’s brother broke down and told a priest about his concerns, has been sent to prison for four years, and placed on the sex offenders' register.
Jose da Silva (59) abused the young girl on at least three occasions - on at least two of those, the girl’s young brother was also in the room.
The court heard that the victim was too frightened to come forward because da Silva had made her feel it was partly her fault, and had said that she would never see her parents again if they’d found out what had happened. He described it as their ‘game.'
It wasn’t until nine years later when the victim’s brother broke down at a church event, and the priest contacted the father saying he should speak to his son, that the full extent of the abuse became clearer.
Da Silva was arrested and charged. During questioning at Police Headquarters he burst into tears. It was put to da Silva that he’d left the young victim traumatised because she’d gotten so used to her attacker’s behaviour she thought it was normal. It wasn’t until she received sex education at school that she’d realised what had happened was wrong. Da Silva replied that he ‘didn’t think it was wrong’ and ‘wouldn’t do anything bad to anybody’.
Today, the Royal Court sentenced him to four years in prison, and placed him on the sex offenders' register for five years, after he had admitted three counts of indecent assault.
In a statement published after the sentencing, Jersey Police commented:
"Da Silva was clearly only interested in satisfying his own sexual gratification and gave no thought or consideration to the abuse that he was subjecting his young victim to.
"The victim has shown incredible courage in reporting what had happened to her and since the initial disclosure has shown strength and commitment in supporting this investigation.
"Sexual abuse of young people will not be tolerated and the police will be proactive in investigating such crimes and where evidence exists put offenders before court, even if the disclosure is made some years later."
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