Sex offender caught by DNA in his PCSO application

A man has admitted sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl in Surrey after being caught while trying to become a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

Reinaldo Goncalo Bertoni Filho, 41, assaulted the two girls in Ewell and Claygate in 2017, approaching both on foot before cornering and attacking them, Surrey Police said.

Goncalo Bertoni Filho, of Askew Road in London, was caught after DNA samples as part of his PCSO application were flagged as matching samples from the two incidents.

He will be sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on 25 July having pleaded guilty to sexual assault by penetration on Tuesday and sexual assault of a child under 13 at an earlier hearing.

A Surrey Police spokesperson said Goncalo Bertoni Filho first cornered and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl on 10 July, 2017, while she was cycling in Hogsmill Open Space in Ewell.

The victim escaped after biting him on the elbow and scratching his face, causing him to run off, and reported the attack to a passer-by.

Goncalo Bertoni Filho then later attacked the 10-year-old girl while she was walking alone in Claygate Common on 17 August, 2017.

The girl said that a man had jogged past her then turned, grabbed her and pinned her against a tree before assaulting her.

After kicking him in the stomach, escaping and telling a family friend, they later tracked down and confronted Goncalo Bertoni Filho while he was out jogging.

The family friend challenged him before chasing him on foot and punching him, knocking a single headphone out of his ear.

When Goncalo Bertoni Filho later applied to be a PCSO with the British Transport Police in September 2024, DNA from the earbud and from the clothes of his first victim matched samples from his application.

Det Sgt Adele Robertson paid tribute to both victims for their bravery.

She added: "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.

"His audacity at applying to join the British Transport Police as a PCSO defies belief, but it was this which ultimately led to being identified."

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