Latest news with #ReinaldoBertoni
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Paedophile, 41, is snagged eight years after crimes against young girls... after applying for police force
A paedophile was caught nearly eight years after he sexually assaulted two young girls when he brazenly applied to become a PCSO. Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho, 41, was snared when DNA he provided as part of the vetting process to join the British Transport Police linked him to attacks in two nature reserves in Surrey. Detectives had been hunting for the child sex attacker since 2017 after two girls, aged 15 and 10, were sexually assaulted. Filho, of Askew Road, in London, appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday where he admitted to one count of sexual assault by penetration. He was arrested in September 2024 and had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the sexual assault of a child under 13 years. Today, Surrey Police Detective Sergeant Adele Robertson said Filho's 'audacity at applying to join the British Transport Police as a PCSO defies belief'. The dangerous sexual predator carried out his first attack on July 10, 2017, when he targeted a 15-year-old girl as she cycled on a footpath in the Hogsmill nature reserve in Epsom. During the terrifying attack, he cornered her before pushing her to ground where he sexually assaulted her. She bravely fought back and bit him on the elbow and scratched his face which caused him to run away. Police were able to obtain DNA from her clothing which was then uploaded onto the National DNA Database. Then, just over a month later, on August 17, Filho struck again when he attacked a 10-year-old who was walking alone in the 14.1 hectare Claygate Common beauty spot. Filho was out jogging when he ran past her before he turned around and grabbed the schoolgirl and then pinning her up against a tree where he sexually assaulted her. She managed to kick him in the stomach and escape, and told a family friend what had happened. They later tracked him down and confronted the paedophile before chasing him as he sprinted away. The family friend then punched him, which caused a single headphone to be dislodged from his ear. It was DNA from this earbud and the clothing that would later match Filho's when he applied to BTP. DS Robertson, from the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said: 'Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to both victims, who were children at the time these heinous offences took place, for their bravery and coming forward and reporting what they had been subjected to. 'Goncalo Bertoni Filho was a dangerous sexual predator who targeted young girls on their own in isolated areas with the sole purpose of committing a sexual offence against them. 'The fact that he has finally been dealt with through the courts after eight years shows how determined we are in our relentless pursuit for justice. 'His audacity at applying to join the British Transport Police as a PCSO defies belief, but it was this which ultimately led to being identified. 'The team put in a huge amount of work into investigating these attacks at the time and this case illustrates our commitment to continuing to investigate even after several years. 'We would urge others who have been victims of similar offences to come forward and report these – you will be listened to, and you will be supported.' BTP Chief Inspector Tracy Goddard-King said: 'It was the mandatory biometric testing in our vetting procedures that ensured Filho was linked to these horrific sexual assaults, and once that connection was made we acted swiftly to ensure all the necessary information was passed on to Surrey Police to allow for immediate action to be taken against him. 'Thorough vetting processes like this are absolutely vital in policing – and in this case they ensured a dangerous offender was removed from the streets, brought before the courts to face justice, and crucially - prevented from ever joining the police.' Filho will be sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on July 25.
Times
15-05-2025
- Times
Child sex offender caught when he tried to join police
A child sex offender who preyed on young girls seven years ago was caught by detectives when he brazenly applied to join the police and submitted a DNA sample as part of his application. Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho was arrested after applying to be a police community support officer (PCSO) with the British Transport Police (BTP) in September last year, police revealed. The 41-year-old was asked to provide a sample as part of the vetting process and it matched DNA obtained following two separate sexual attacks on children in Ewell and Claygate in 2017. The first incident took place on July 10 on a footpath in Ewell, where the 15-year-old victim was sexually assaulted. A male DNA profile was obtained from her clothing, which was
