Man who giggled while groping girl jailed

A man who giggled while groping a young girl has been jailed for two and a half years.

After being caught, Filomeno Chapim, 72 and from Newcastle, seemed more concerned about breaking the rules of Christianity than the impact he had on the child, the city's crown court heard.

The girl said she had been left feeling suicidal, with Chapim's actions being "unfair and disgusting", the court heard.

Chapim, an Angolan national who moved to the UK eight years ago, admitted sexual assault of a child under 13.

Chapim was "whispering and giggling" when he grabbed the girl from behind and groped her, recorder Richard Wright KC said.

When he was questioned by police, Chapim attributed his actions to a recent divorce and having diabetes.

He also made multiple references to his religion, God and the Bible, the court heard.

When asked by officers why groping a child was in violation of his faith, he said it was because sexual encounters outside of marriage go "against the principles of God", the court heard.

The judge told Chapim he had eventually shown some "elements of remorse", but they were "in part bound up in your belief you had broken your religious code rather than being based on any real insight or understanding of the harm you have caused" the victim.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said she blamed herself for allowing it to happen, adding Chapim's actions were "unfair and disgusting".

Wright said the only person to blame was Chapim, whose actions were "gross".

The girl also said she had been left feeling angry and having suicidal thoughts, the court heard.

The judge said Chapim, who was an industrial electrician in Angola but worked sporadically as a dishwasher in the UK, had "deprived" the girl of "a normal teenage life".

Chapim must sign the sex offender register and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

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