Greater Manchester Police officer sex attack sentence appeal rejected

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Ernesto CeraldiImage source, Lancashire Police
Image caption,

Former Greater Manchester Police officer Ernesto Ceraldi attacked the woman in her own home

A bid to increase the prison sentence of a former Greater Manchester Police officer who throttled and punched a woman while trying to rape her has been rejected at the Court of Appeal.

Ernesto Ceraldi, 44, of Darwen, Lancashire, was jailed for five years and four months in June after admitting assault and attempted rape.

His jail term was referred by the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

Judges concluded it was "not unduly lenient".

Lawyers representing the AGO argued Ceraldi should have received an extended sentence for public protection and the term was not long enough for his offending.

Refusing to increase the sentence, Lord Justice Bean said the Crown Court judge was entitled to reach the conclusion not to impose an extended sentence and to reflect Ceraldi's early guilty pleas in the overall term.

The court heard Ceraldi, who was a police dog handler, had throttled, punched and pulled the hair of his victim who he met in a Rossendale pub on 1 April.

'Horrific'

He told her he was a police officer and showed her photos of his dog before she invited him in to her home.

The court heard the defendant's attitude "changed all of a sudden" and he began to demand she perform a sexual act on him and grabbed her hair.

He pushed her against a wall and put his hand around her throat.

The victim described the pressure on her throat as "horrific" and she said she nearly stopped breathing, Lord Justice Bean said.

The court heard the woman had tried to escape but he chased her while naked and continued attacking her until a neighbour intervened.

Ceraldi was found by police sleeping naked on the sofa of his victim's house.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "As a police officer I should have been able to trust him without a shadow of a doubt. If I cannot trust a police officer with 21 years of service, who can I trust?"

She also said she was now unable to leave her home at night and had nightmares about the attack.

Lord Justice Bean told the court a report from a prison officer indicated Ceraldi was "genuinely horrified" by his behaviour, and that Ceraldi said he "didn't want any sympathy", adding: "I have spent many years helping victims and now I have created one."

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