News / Crime
Young woman praised for ‘truly remarkable’ courage as her rapist is jailed
A young woman whose rapist has been jailed for nine years has been praised by the judge and police for her “truly remarkable” courage.
Fernando Cervi-Alvarez, 25, of Argyle Road in St Paul’s, had denied rape claiming the victim consented but was found guilty.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court was told how the young woman was enjoying a night out socialising with friends in a nightclub and bars in Bristol on May 13 2019.
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CCTV images show Cervi-Alvarez carrying the victim back to the basement of a block of flats where he attacked her.
During the sentencing hearing, the young woman – who cannot be named – directly addressed Cervi-Alvarez in a statement.
“I wish to make it clear just how difficult it has been to write your name within this document. I considered referring to you as the ‘perpetrator’ but I wished to be respectful to you even though that is how I view you.
“To address you by name is to humanise you and I struggle to do that as your actions that evening resembled the behaviour of a brute. I can only hope that this was in not a reflection of your true character.
“I hope that your conviction may discourage other men from acting in an animalistic way, as you did that night.
“I hope that in the future I will find a way to forgive you and we will each learn from this ordeal. I want you to know that I constantly consider the impact this will have on your life.
“However, I am very aware that it is as a consequence of your own behaviour and no amount of time you will spend in prison will ever make up for negative effect you have had on my life.
“All that I can reasonably ask of you, is that you cause no further harm to me, yourself, or anyone else.”
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Detective constable Laura Salt said: “Cervi-Alvarez took advantage of an innocent young woman who was simply enjoying a night with her friends and he deserves to pay the penalty for his actions.
“The courage of the young woman involved in this case is truly remarkable. To have to suffer the ordeal she did and bravely relive the experience at court is not something anyone should have to go through.”
Judge Mark Horton praised the bravery of the victim throughout the case, saying that the ordeal had “cast a dark shadow over her life”.
He said: “Her victim personal statement is a remarkable document demonstrating, as did her evidence in the trial, that she is a young lady of high intelligence and high sensitivity who delivered a balanced, fair and accurate account of what she could recall of the savage reality of the offence and its aftermath and its tragic effect upon her life, but still able, to be thinking about the effect on you.”
Main photo: Avon & Somerset Police
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