Rape defendant denies sex with 17-year-old

Wednesday 05 July 2017

A 21-year-old male who is accused of raping and indecently assaulting a teenage girl in October 2016 has told the Royal Court today he didn't have sex with the girl.

Paulo Adelino Pestana Ferreira is pleading not guilty to all charges against him, which include four counts of indecent assault and one of rape.

This morning he explained that after finishing work on 8 October, he went home and had dinner with his family. He then met up with cousins and friends at a café and went to Havana with three of them around midnight. He met the alleged victim while on the dance floor and started dancing with her. After a while, he says she suggested they get a drink, grabbed his arm and took him to the bar. He paid for a drink and they sat down on some chairs to talk. They left the club shortly after. She told him she had arranged for a lift at Liberation Station so he walked her there, helping her and supporting her as she was walking barefoot.

When they arrived at the station, her friend wasn't there so Mr Ferreira then offered to get his car at Minden Place while she waited and drive her home. He said: "She didn't say she didn't want to go or resisted. She would have pushed me away or left if she didn't want to go with me."

On the way he says they stopped in a car park, and he suggested they get into the back seat and she agreed, sitting astride him. He said they kissed and had their arms around each other but that her top didn't come off. When the girl said she had to go home as it was late and she had work on the Sunday, they stopped and drove away. 

He said that he didn't touch her under her clothes, nor did she touch him. He said: "It never got to the point of sex."

Prosecuting, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas challenged this version of events during his cross examination. He asked Mr Ferreira why he had failed to mention he had kissed the girl during his first police interview. He replied that he was concerned of being in trouble for having underage contact with a girl. He only mentioned it to his lawyer in June this year after finding out that it wasn't illegal, as he was "too worried" and "didn't trust too many people."

The Crown Advocate said: "The reason you came up with this account is because you received the report from Kerri Allen which said that just speaking in the car or kissing in the club couldn’t explain the DNA on the bodysuit and you tried to come up with another explanation."

The case continues.