AN Islander has been jailed for two years for the “appalling” sexual assault of a girl under the age of 16.
Victor Angelo De Encarnacao (42) believed his victim to be “13 or 14 years old” when he twice touched her sexually without consent on 11 November 2023.
The man was interviewed under police caution two days later and denied being “sexually interested” in the complainant, the Royal Court heard.
De Encarnacao initially pleaded not guilty to all sexual assault charges but, during his trial, admitted two counts of sexual touching without consent and attempted sexual touching without consent.
Speaking to probation officers while being held in custody on remand, De Encarnacao admitted interest in “sexual material involving older adolescents” but continued to deny that his offending was “sexually motivated”, the court was told.
He appeared at the Royal Court yesterday to be sentenced by the Inferior Number.
Crown Advocate Christina Hall, prosecuting, said that a female teenage victim had been “sexually assaulted without her consent” by De Encarnacao on 11 November 2023.
The complainant described herself in interview as “being too scared to say something” when the offences were committed, she said.
It was heard that De Encarnacao committed the offences “whilst under the influence of alcohol after a night out”.
Reading from a pre-sentence report, Advocate Hall said De Encarnacao was evaluated as displaying a “poor attitude towards his offending”, including “minimisation, partial denial and limited acceptance of responsibility”.
The defendant, who has lived in Jersey for 23 years, also “reported interest in sexual material involving older adolescents” while presenting “limited victim empathy and a lack of engagement in pro-social activities”, the court heard.
In her victim personal statement, the complainant said the assault had affected her education as well as her family life.
Advocate Ian Jones, defending, reported his client as being “surprised” by the conclusions in the pre-sentence report and insisted De Encarnacao was “fully remorseful as reflected in his guilty pleas”.
Delivering the court’s sentence, the Bailiff Robert MacRae, presiding, praised the complainant for having the “courage and wisdom” to inform authorities about the sexual assault.
He acknowledged the “extreme psychological harm” caused and told De Encarnacao that he would receive “minimal credit” for only pleading guilty after the trial had begun.
“Your victim would have been of the view that she was moments away from giving evidence”, he noted.
Describing the offending as “appalling” and noting his “continual sexual interest in older adolescents”, the Bailiff sentenced De Encarnacao to two years imprisonment.
He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a minimum of ten years and given an indefinite restraining order prohibiting him being alone with any female he knows or believes to be under the age of 16.
