GMP officer tried to rape woman he met in a pub
VICTIM IS NOW TOO SCARED TO GO OUT ALONE IN THE DARK AFTER HORRIFIC ATTACK
A GREATER Manchester Police officer has been jailed after violently attacking and trying to rape a woman.
Ernesto Ceraldi, 44, left the victim, who said she thought she was going to die, bloodied and bruised after repeatedly throttling and punching her during the terrifying ordeal.
The police dog handler was eventually arrested after chasing her outside whilst fully naked and pinning her against a wall as she screamed for help and a watching neighbour shouted at him to stop.
His victim now says she is now too scared to go out alone after dark as a judge sentenced him to nearly fiveand-a-half years in jail.
Ceraldi, who at the time was a serving GMP officer with 21 years service, was off duty and out with a group of friends on the evening of Friday, April 1, this year, when he met the victim in a pub in Rossendale.
They initially “enjoyed each other’s company”, the court heard, as they chatted and he showed her pictures of his police dog on his phone, Preston Crown Court was told.
She invited him back to her home and the pair, who the court heard had both consumed a “large quantity” of alcohol, had consensual sex.
At one point during the evening Ceraldi’s “attitude changed.”
He began demanding and trying to force her to perform a sex act on him as he grabbed her by the hair and began pulling her towards him, the court was told.
He pushed her against a wall, causing a picture hung from it to fall and smash, as he slapped her and put his hands on her throat and squeezed using pressure described by the victim as “horrific”, David Traynor, prosecuting said.
He then punched her in the face, causing her to stumble and fall onto the sofa where there was a struggle. Ceraldi continued to punch her and grab her by the throat as she pleaded with him to stop.
The woman eventually managed to push him away, unlock her back door and run outside. However, Ceraldi, who was naked, followed and caught up with her and pinned her against a wall.
A neighbour heard her screaming ‘help me, help me’ around 1.30am on Saturday, April 2, the court heard. The police were called and officers found Ceraldi asleep on her sofa.
The woman’s face and nose were left swollen and bruised and she also had bruises all over body, Mr Traynor said. Blood splatters were found on various walls with her hair extensions found scattered across the floor having been pulled out.
Ceraldi, of no fixed address, but previously of Darwen, near Blackburn in Lancashire, pleaded guilty to attempted rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).
Ceraldi was previously a man of “exemplary good character” who had received commendations for his actions whilst on duty at the 2008 UEFA Cup final in Manchester and during the 2011 summer riots in Salford, the court was told.
Julian King, defending said Ceraldi was “disgusted and ashamed” of his actions and was “genuinely remorseful.” He said the officer, who has now resigned from his position as a Pc, had taken the “bold decision” to plead guilty at the first hearing at the crown court.
Judge Simon Medland QC sentenced Ceraldi, who appeared in court via videolink from HMP Preston, to five years four months. He will serve half of the sentence, less his time on remand, before being released on licence.
Once released, Ceraldi must sign the sex offender’s register for life and an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.