SEX OFFENDER CAUGHT BY DNA WHILE APPLYING TO BECOME POLICE SUPPORT OFFICER
Sentencing 28/07/2025 A man has been jailed for nine years following two separate sexual assaults on girls in Ewell and Claygate in 2017.Ronaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho, 41(DOB: 28/04/1983), of Askew Road in London, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault by penetration at Guildford Crown Court on 13 May.
He was found guilty of a second charge of sexual assault on a child under 13 years at an earlier hearing.
He was arrested after applying to be a Police Community Support Officer with the British Transport Police in September 2024 and asked to provide a DNA sample as part of the vetting process, which matched DNA obtained following the two attacks.
The first incident took place on the 10 July 2017 on a footpath within the Hogsmill Open Space in Ewell.
The victim, who was 15 years old at the time, was cycling on her own when Goncalo Bertoni Filho approached her on foot, before cornering her and pushing her to the ground.
The victim bit Goncalo Bertoni Filho on the elbow and scratched his face which caused him to run off.
The victim then stopped a passer-by and told her what had happened.
A male DNA profile was obtained from her clothing, which was checked against the National DNA Database without success.
The profile was uploaded to the database.
The second incident took place on the 17 August 2017, the victim who was 10 years old at the time, was walking alone on a footpath on Claygate Common in Claygate, when a man jogged past her and then turned and grabbed her, before pinning her up against a tree and sexually assaulting her.
She managed to lift her leg and kick Goncalo Bertoni Filho in the stomach before running away.
The victim told a family friend what had happened, and they drove around to try and find the suspect, spotting Goncalo Bertoni Filho who was out jogging.
He was wearing the same bottoms and trainers he had been wearing when he had attacked her.
The family friend challenged Goncalo Bertoni Filho, who denied he had done anything wrong before running off.
The friend chased him on foot and punched him, knocking a single ear bud out of his ear.
The DNA taken from the ear bud matched the DNA recovered from the first offence and the sample that Goncalo Bertoni Filho provided to the British Transport Police in September 2024 and he was subsequently arrested.
Goncalo Bertoni Filho was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register on release.
Detective Sergeant Adele Robertson from the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team said: “Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to both victims, who were children at the time these heinous offences took place, for their bravery and coming forward and reporting what they had been subjected to.
“Goncalo Bertoni Filho was a dangerous sexual predator who targeted young girls on their own in isolated areas with the sole purpose of committing a sexual offence against them.
The fact that he has finally been dealt with through the courts after eight years shows how determined we are in our relentless pursuit for justice ---‐--‐-------------------------------------------------- A man named Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho, aged 41, has pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offenses involving two girls in Surrey.
Specifically, he admitted to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl in 2017.
The assaults occurred in Ewell and Claygate, where Goncalo Bertoni Filho approached both victims on foot, then cornered and attacked them.
The incident in Ewell involved a 15-year-old girl on 10 July 2017, who was cycling in Hogsmill Open Space.
Goncalo Bertoni Filho assaulted her by cornering and sexually attacking her, but she managed to escape after biting him and scratching his face.
The attack on the 10-year-old girl happened in Claygate, when she was walking alone on 17 August 2017.
She reported that the man had approached her, pinned her against a tree, and assaulted her after jogging past her.
The victims' bravery was commended by Surrey Police, and Goncalo Bertoni Filho's subsequent application to join the British Transport Police as a PCSO in September 2024 led to his identification, as DNA from the application matched evidence from the assaults.
Goncalo Bertoni Filho now faces sentencing at Guildford Crown Court on 25 July and has admitted to sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault of a child under 13.
The police described him as a dangerous sexual predator targeting young girls in isolated areas.
His audacity in applying to be a police support officer was noted as being particularly shocking, but ultimately, it was this act that resulted in his identification and subsequent prosecution.
