A Portuguese sex attacker who groped a young woman has been jailed in the UK after she filmed part of the attack on her iPhone.
Luis Silva, 22, had has a bust up with his girlfriend and had 'drunk enough to sink a ship' when he exposed himself to the stranger, groped her and slapped her to the ground.
When Silva realised that she was filming him, Silva tried to take her phone by force but she escaped and handed the phone with the filmed attack to local police, who immediately issued the images to the public.
Silva was jailed yesterday in Worcestershire. A three-and-a-half year sentence was handed down after he admitted the sexual assault, attempted robbery and indecent exposure.
Judge Robert Juckes said, 'The victim showed an extraordinary presence of mind and intelligence by recording the attack.'
The court heard that Silva, of Repton, Derbyshire, had drunk whisky after a row with his girlfriend and then wandered the streets of Evesham, Worcestershire, where he worked, until the attack took place.
Prosecutor Paul Whitfield told Worcester Crown Court: "The defendant began to follow the woman through the town. Silva approached her at a junction and exposed himself. He then demanded she touched him and, when she got out her mobile phone to film him, he sexually assaulted her by touching her over her clothes.”
West Mercia Police used stills from the footage to appeal for witnesses and Silva was quickly recognised.
Sarah Holland, defending, told the court Silva did not remember the incident but was “very ashamed” of his actions.
Silva had moved to Britain from Portugal in January 2014 to seek a better life, she added. He had moved to be close to his girlfriend and held down a job in a fish and chip shop in Evesham.
Miss Holland said on the night of the attack Silva had an argument with his girlfriend and her mother, who was visiting from Portugal, and had gone out to 'drown his sorrows'.
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