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A 25-year-old man has been convicted of two offences of attempted rape and also charges of sexual assault, all occurring in Ipswich and against two separate victims.
Adiley Pires was found guilty of the crimes at Ipswich Crown Court today 26th October, following 9-day trial.
Pires, of Kensington Road in Ipswich, had stood accused of 4 offences in total: one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault in connection with an incident on 17 October 2021; and one count of attempted rape and one count of assault by beating, in connection with an incident on 8 December 2022.
He admitted the charge of assault by beating but denied the other three offences.
The first attack occurred between 3.10am and 3.20am on Sunday 17 October 2021, in the courtyard area of the apartment building called Foundry, The Mill, in College Street.
The victim – a woman who was aged 18 at the time of the incident - was walking along the Ipswich waterfront from the direction of Stoke Bridge, where she was approached by Pires who tried to make conversation with her and then touched her bottom.
The victim told him in strong terms to leave her alone and as she has tried to get away from him, Pires proceeded to chase her into the courtyard area of Foundry, The Mill.
At this point, Pires pushed the woman into a flower planter and attempted to lift up her dress, but she began to scream as loud she could for help and got the attention of some residents in the building, who then shouted at Pires from the balconies above and he then ran away.
The victim had been out that evening at a nightclub in Cardinal Park and as part of the police investigation, CCTV from inside the nightclub was viewed and found Pires had been watching her as she left the building and is then captured on further CCTV cameras following her across Cardinal Park and then onwards to the waterfront area.
The most recent attack occurred at approximately 11.40pm on Thursday 8 December on the river towpath near Tower Mill Road.
The victim, a 17-year-old girl, had walked onto the towpath in Yarmouth Road and was walking in the direction of Tower Mill Road, when she was approached from behind by Pires, who grabbed her and put her on the ground.
Pires then covered the victim’s mouth and hit her whilst pulling at her leggings. The victim was trying to fight him off and managed to call out for help, gaining the attention of nearby residents who shouted at Pires and he then ran away.
Following CCTV enquiries and due to the similarities with the incident in October 2021, Pires was raised as a suspect and was a positive match to a male identified as being present in the relevant locations at the time of the attack. He was then arrested on Thursday 15 December and subsequently charged the next day.
During the trial he denied the attacks were sexually motivated, but the jury dismissed this argument and found him guilty of all counts by a unanimous decision.
Pires was remanded in custody pending a sentencing hearing to be held at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday 20th December.
Anyone who would like to speak to someone in confidence about sexual abuse or violence can contact Suffolk Police on 101, or staff at The Ferns on 0300 1235058, or via email: [email protected] or online at: https://www.theferns-suffolk.org.uk
Further information, support and advice is also available from the following groups:
www.survivorsintransition.co.uk Survivors in Transition - Specialist support in Suffolk for female and male survivors of childhood sexual abuse, violence and exploitation
www.suffolkrapecrisis.org.uk Suffolk Rape Crisis – Support service open to females aged 14 or above who needs support following a rape or sexual assault.