DNA sample from police application brings sexual offender to justice

A DNA sample given by a man who applied to join the police has led to him being jailed for sexually assaulting two girls in 2017.

Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho (42) applied to work as a Police Community Support Officer in British Transport Police in 2024 and provided a DNA sample as part of the application process.

This was found to match a sample from a sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl riding her bike in Hogsmill Open Space in Ewell in July 2017. Goncalo Bertoni Filho also pleaded guilty to a further sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl who was walking through Claygate Common in August 2017. In both instances, the girls were able to fight the defendant off and were able to escape.

Rebecca Millardship from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho deliberately targeted children who were both in isolated spaces, where they should have been safe to enjoy themselves.

“What happened on those days has had a huge, long-lasting impact on every aspect of the lives of these two girls. They were left with memory flashbacks, terrified of men and fearful and anxious for years that they might see their attacker again, until Goncalo Bertoni Filho was arrested.

“One of the victims talked about how the attack had stolen her confidence, joy and safety. We hope that, with today’s sentence, both girls can now start to rebuild their lives, knowing their attacker has been brought to justice.”