Appearing in the Royal Court, Joao Carlos Gouveia Ferreira (24) was placed on the Sex Offender Register for ten years after pleading guilty to a number of sexual offences.
He also received a nine-year restraining order banning him from contact with any girls under the age of 16.
The court heard that Ferreira carried out a series of sexual abuse offences against one girl over an eight-month period.
He was arrested in May after she came forward to her school counsellor following a lesson about safe relationships and sexual consent.
Opening the case yesterday, Crown Advocate Conrad Yates said that Ferreira had turned the victim into ‘a subject for his own sexual gratification’.
He added: ‘He stripped the victim of her childhood and her innocence in an appalling way.’
The advocate added that the defendant should be imprisoned for his offences and asked for him to be jailed for six years.
Evidence presented to the court included a text message in which the defendant offered the victim money to perform a sex act with him.
‘The victim also said during police interview that Ferreira would offer her cash and cigarettes in return for submitting to sexual activity.
Advocate Giles Baxter, defending, said that his client had never committed any threats or violence against the victim and called for a jail sentence of three years.
However, Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, presiding, described Ferreira as a sexual predator and told him that he had ‘stolen the victim’s childhood’.
He added: ‘You have shown little remorse or sympathy for the victim and have tried to blame her. We have read about the profound effect your predatory behaviour had on her. You used her for your own sexual gratification.’
The Superior Number, which convenes for Jersey’s most serious cases, followed the Crown’s recommendations and jailed Ferreira for six years. They declined to recommend the deportation of the defendant back to Portugal because he has grown up in the Island and his close family live in Jersey.
Ferreira pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse, two counts of procuring an act of gross indecency and attempting to procure an act of gross indecency.
In a statement, Detective Inspector Mark Hafey, head of the States police’s Public Protection Unit, said that the force strived to work with abuse victims who were willing to speak out.
He said: ‘Child sexual abuse casts a long shadow, and for many victims and survivors the impact can last a lifetime. The States police, along with partner agencies, strive to provide the best possible service to victims and survivors who decide to speak out.’
He added: ‘Trained professionals are on hand to offer support and guidance and to ensure an environment where victims can feel safe and secure, and where privacy is crucial.’
