February 2021 Sex predator locked up for sexually abusing 14 year old schoolgirl A sex predator has been locked up for sexually abusing a 14 year old schoolgirl in the “most heinous” of crimes. Romanian George Zmeu has now been jailed for nearly six years after carrying out the appalling & vile attack on the victim. The 39-year-old of London Road, Southend was set to stand trial for sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexual assault by penetration. However, on the first day of his trial he changed his pleas to guilty and was sentenced yesterday. The court heard that Zmeu had come to the UK from Romania in 2015. The vile incident took place in April 2020. The court heard that the victim had tried to push him off, but he continued and said “nothing is going to happen”. The girl recorded a video clip of Zmeu abusing her. The victim eventually sought help from a friend and police were called. Zmeu was arrested the following morning, where swabs were taken to collect DNA samples. He was charged with the offences and was remanded in prison ever since. In a victim impact statement, Zmeu’s victim said the crimes have had an ongoing effect on her confidence around men. She has since become more introverted, anxious and angry. Mitigation for Zmeu said he was aware that his acts were the “most heinous” criminal activity to come before the courts and that he faced a long sentence, but he had not committed any other sexual offences. Judge Samantha Cohen said that Zmeu treated the girl no more than someone “to sexually attack”, but said it was to his credit that he changed his pleas to avoid her giving evidence in court. Zmeu was jailed for five years and 11 months and must remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.