Forensic scientists challenge defendant's version of alleged rape

Wednesday 05 July 2017

A forensic scientist has told Jersey's Royal Court that the account given by a 20-year-old male, accused of raping and indecently assaulting a teenage girl, could not explain how his DNA ended up on the inside of the girl's clothes.

Paulo Adelino Pestana Ferreira is facing four charges of indecent assault and one of rape. He is pleading not guilty to all of them.

In his first police interview he said that nothing had happened between himself and the alleged victim, whom he met at the Havana Club hours before its claimed that he raped her. He explained the only contact between the two of them happened when he pulled up the straps of her top as they were falling down. He said he picked her up from Liberation Station after her lift failed to arrive, and simply drove her home, adding that she stayed on the front seat the whole time.

The 17-year-old girl says that while he was driving he put his hand down the front of her trousers and grabbed her chest. She says that instead of dropping her home, he pulled up in a car park, lifted her onto the back seat and raped her.

In court yesterday, Detective Constable Allan Bale explained that a condom wrapper had been found in the car park where the girl said the alleged rape took place, but explained the Police hadn't been able to identify either her, or the defendant's, DNA on it.

Two forensic experts, Dr Neil Simpson and Kerri Allen confirmed  Mr Ferreira's DNA was found on the inside of the bodysuit the girl was wearing, and that it was likely it came from saliva. The strongest DNA evidence was located on the lower portion of the bodysuit, which would have been close to the chest when the top was pulled up. 

Kerri Allen told the court, "...nothing in Mr Ferreira's statement explained the findings," and that, "...the presence of his DNA couldn't be explained by his account." 

The defendant made another statement later on saying he had been dancing with the victim in the Havana Club, and that they had kissed. He added that they kissed again while sitting in the front of the car and that she had agreed to get in the back of the vehicle. After he got onto the back seat, she sat on his lap facing him and whilst doing so, her chest would have been close to his face.

Mr Ferreira, who is defended by Advocate Rui Tremoceiro, is expected to give evidence in his own defence this morning.