‘This will be our secret’: Sex abuser jailed for assault on Leaving Cert student

Gordon Deegan

A sex abuser who told a then 19-year-old Leaving Cert student that “this will be our secret” after carrying out a series of escalating acts of sexual assault on her has been jailed for two years and four months.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a 36-month prison term on Portuguese national, Henrique Freitas (47) of Cratloe Suites, Twomile Inn, Ennis Rd, Limerick and suspended the final eight months for the sexual assault offence on the female on March 6th 2022.

Judge Comerford said that Mr Freitas “carried a series of escalating acts of sexual assault which all fall under the ambit of one sexual assault on the injured party”.

Mr Freitas knew but was not related to the injured party and carried out the sexual assault when asked to give her a lift to a house where she had left her school bag, as her parents were away at the time.

Mr Freitas drove the then-teenager, who lives in the Midwest, back to his apartment as his wife and two young children were away for the day.

Judge Comerford said that Mr Freitas committed “a very serious crime” and showed complete disregard for the consent of the injured party, "and carried out a series of escalating acts of sexual assault".

Judge Comerford said that during the sexual assault, Mr Freitas forcibly and suddenly pulled off the adult teenager's shoes and pants while she was sitting on a couch and had oral contact and digital penetration of her vaginal area.

The court heard that the student ‘froze’ during the sexual assault, and Judge Comerford said that it is well established that when people are shocked by this kind of unwanted onslaught, they freeze.

The teenager told Mr Frietas to stop and pushed him away, but he climbed on top of her with a knee on either side of her and tried to kiss her.

He stopped when the teenager asked him to stop and to bring her home.

Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL (instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) said that the complainant’s sister reported the sex assault to Gardaí the same day, and the complainant attended the Sexual Assault Unit in Cork for a forensic examination.

Det Garda Seán O’Hagan of Henry Street Garda Station, Limerick said that the accused told gardaí that nothing had happened and he was "very surprised by the sex assault allegation”.

Det Garda O’Hagan said that Mr Freitas’s DNA was recovered from the injured party’s bra and an intimate area of her underwear. Mr Freitas also exercised his right to silence when formally interviewed by gardaí.

In court and accompanied by her family, the woman - now aged 22 - told the court in her victim impact statement, “When he dropped me off and said ‘this is our secret’ I felt sick to my stomach, angered and outraged”.

She said that “during the gruesome sexual assault at his house, I felt terrible physical pain in my heart, and I was very scared, and numb to be able to escape from the assault”.

She said: “On the way home, I felt nervous, disgusted, disrespected and humiliated. I felt dirty and disgusting. My heart was racing and I was afraid and confused and unsettled.”

The assault occurred just three months before the complainant’s Leaving Cert exams, and she said on the morning of one exam “I broke down…it was all too much”.

The young woman said that “this assault has ripped away my self-worth, self-esteem and confidence in myself and I am no longer the bubbly, outgoing lady who could take to anyone from young to old, that I was before this terrible assault.”

In the aftermath of the sexual assault, the complainant said: “I couldn’t eat as I felt sick and I became quiet in myself and very tearsome. I was so afraid.”

She said: “In the last year, I felt so low at times that very frightening suicidal thoughts went through my head. They really terrified me as I don’t want to die.”

She said that today she does have the strength to communicate to Mr Freitas the impact his sexual assault has had on her.

She said: “As my late Granny used to always say, ‘hold your head up high and put yourself up on a pedestal, because if you don’t, no one else will’.

She said: “So today, I will, with all my courage, put myself up on that pedestal and continue to try to mend my heart and my mind to build a bright future for myself, with my loving family and friends.”

Counsel for Mr Freitas, Kenneth Kerins BL (instructed by solicitor Colum Doherty) said that Mr Freitas has been a resident in Ireland for sometime and was employed in Foynes.

Mr Kerins said: “His own family life, his employment and standing in the community have been ruined.”

Mr Kerins said that his client has abused a position of trust in the case.

Judge Comerford said that Mr Freitas had no previous convictions, and mitigation for his guilty plea is reduced as he made an application to change his guilty plea after formally entering it.

Mr Freitas could be heard shouting from the holding area outside the courtroom while being led away by prison officers down to the cells at Ennis courthouse. Mr Freitas is now also placed on the Sex Offenders register.