Former professional soccer player jailed for raping woman at knifepoint in her home

Olivia Kelleher

A former professional soccer player who raped a young woman in her home at knifepoint, made video recordings of the attack, and threatened to kill her and her parents has been jailed for nine years.

Tiago Damasceno Sousa (39), who previously played for America Mineiro in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, appeared before the Central Criminal Court in Cork for sentencing.

He pleaded guilty to raping the 19-year-old woman at her home on March 29th, 2024.

Garda Áine O’Regan said that the victim was raped and threatened at knifepoint between 7 am and 9 am on that date in her own home.

The court heard that the woman endured a horrific ordeal as she was raped numerous times over a two-hour period. She woke to find an intruder, later discovered to be Sousa, leaning over her bed at 7 am.

He was armed with a knife and covered her mouth. He warned her to “shut up.” He said if she failed to comply, he would kill her and her parents. He swung the knife back and forth as he lay on top of her.

Dt Garda O’Regan said that the victim knew something bad was going to happen the minute she spotted the man over her bed. The teenager decided to try to trick him in a bid to get him to leave her alone.

“She agreed to have sex the following day. But he kept slapping her in the face, saying, ‘No, you are going to do it now.’ She agreed to give him oral sex. He was still holding the knife.

“When she said “no video” (recording) to him he told her to shut up. He slapped her on the face because he believed she was not showing pleasure… He kept apologising to her. He said he had had proof that she was enjoying it.”

Justice Siobhan Lankford was told that Sousa had performed oral sex on the woman. He also put his penis in her several times from different positions, recording some of what occurred on his mobile phone. He repeatedly made death threats.

Sousa was living in West Cork for over a year at the time of the offence. He required an interpreter at the sentencing hearing arising out of his lack of proficiency in English.

Dt Garda O’Regan said during the attack he used Google Translate on his phone so that he could warn his victim not to confide in anyone until he had gone back to Brazil.

It was established by gardaí that he had his bags packed and had a flight to Brazil booked for the following day. He intended to spend a month in Brazil and then return to Ireland.

The woman reported the incident to gardaí. They arrested the accused on the same day the rape occurred. They found that he had a number of videos on his phone from that morning, including one lasting 52 seconds, which recorded sexual intercourse.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said it was hard to understand how a man with a daughter her own age could carry such a heinous offence.

“No matter how many showers I had, it felt like his fingerprints were on my body permanently; if someone was to touch me, even a hug, it terrified me.”

She detailed the impact of the incident on her life.

“It started off as me not wanting to be in school and pretty much around people, to sleepless nights, constant nightmares that I still remember and still have. I've a fear of being alone (at home). I couldn't sleep alone for a long time or without background noise.

"I began going to therapy hoping it would help my trauma. But it didn’t. I’ve (self harmed) because it felt like his fingerprints were still there. That didn’t help either.

“Other days I was fully convinced I should've died that day by being stabbed and it would go into an instant panic attack from the thought of it.

“When he gets out of prison eventually he will be able to get on with his life but this will stick with my forever and will always be in the back of my mind.

"He done this in the place that was supposed to be my comfort space and safe place but he completely ruined it for me. That was the house I grew up in and now it's in my nightmares. No one should ever have to fear for their safety in their own home."

Defence barrister Jane Hyland, SC, said that the accused had a significant amount of alcohol on board when the incident occured. She noted that Sousa was apologising to the victim even as he was committing the offence.

Sousa has no previous convictions either in this country or in Brazil. Ms Hyland described what occurred as an “act of madness” on behalf of her client.

The Judge praised the victim for her bravery on the date of the attack. She also spoke of the eloquence of the victim impact statement.

She described as aggravating factors the significant age difference between the accused and the victim, the fact that the rape occurred in the bedroom of her own home and the prolonged nature of the event.

“Not only was she (the victim) subjected to vaginal rape, but she was also forced at knifepoint to give Sousa oral sex and subjected to oral sex on her. These events were videotaped. He made a video of her private parts. This is all hugely aggravating.”

By way of mitigation, she said she was cognisant of the good work history of the accused and the entering of a guilty plea in the case, which saved the woman the ordeal of giving evidence at a trial. She jailed Sousa for nine years and backdated the sentence to March 29th, 2024, when he entered custody.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.