British hitchhiker raped in Portugal but attacker walks free from court

British hitchhiker raped in Portugal but attacker walks free from court Jane WhartonSunday

24 Feb 2019 10:23 pm

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A British hitchhiker who was raped in Portugal has described the agony of watching her attacker walk free from court laughing. Kate Juby has bravely waived her right to anonymity to talk about the brutal attack, which happened as she made her way home after a music festival. The 24-year-old shared a happy photo of her by the roadside on what should have been the holiday of a lifetime with a group of friends. Less than an hour after the picture was taken, Kate was subjected to a horrific attack (Picture: Triangle News) But less than an hour after the picture was taken, Kate had been picked up by a violent rapist who drove her down a dirt track and attacked her. Pervert Tiago Curado de Sousa, 33, subjected her to a humiliating 20-minute assault. Incredibly, Portuguese authorities then allowed him to walk free from court even though he admitted what he had done. Fake ‘Viagra’ floods UK clubs and pubs after hitting black market Disturbingly Kate had to watch Curado de Sousa stroll out of the court building arm in arm with his wife laughing. He returned to his normal life while Kate has had to quit university and has needed months of intensive therapy. Kate now hopes to change the Portuguese legal system to make sure no other victims end up in her position. She said of the attack: ‘I knew my life was different then, for the rest of it. I knew I’d never be me again.’ Kate wants to change the legal system in Portugal (Picture: Triangle News)

Kate was in the first year of a food development degree at Liverpool John Moores University when she joined friends at a festival near Aljezur in April 2017. After several days there, she had to return to Faro to catch her flight home, but there were no trains and she couldn’t find a bus so decided to hitchhike – a decision she now says was the worst of her life. She said she had been told by many people that hitchhiking was safe on the Algarve. Soon into her attempts to get home on April 14 last year, mechanic Curado de Sousa pulled over and offered to take her part of the way. Labour will back a second referendum in bid to prevent no-deal Brexit About ten miles into the journey, he turned off claiming to be picking up a car for scrap. Soon, he then grabbed Kate’s shoulders, dragged her out and raped her twice against the side of the truck. Kate recalled: ‘I thought I was going to die. I kept saying “Please don’t kill me.”’ ‘I said: “If you do this just please let me go, please don’t murder me.” ‘He kept calling me baby which was so disgusting, horrible and gross. I was just screaming. ‘When he finally let go I grabbed my backpack and ran.’ A picture of Kate back in the UK three days after the attack (Picture: Triangle News) Kate scrambled through rough grassland and eventually made it to the main road where she flagged down a pair of passing German motorists, who thankfully spoke English. They waited with her until the police arrived and she was eventually taken to Portiamo hospital. There, Kate said, she received appalling care from medics who pinned her down on the bed and told her not to be ‘such a baby’ as she cried during DNA and blood tests. It was only after around six hours in total that she was finally allowed to call her mum Deborah Stanton back home in Suffolk to say what had happened. Pictured: Motorcyclist, 23, who died after crashing into house Remembering the most difficult phone call of her life, Kate said of her mum’s reaction: ‘I could hear her heart breaking on the other side of the phone. ‘All she could hear was me crying and she was begging me to tell her what happened. ‘I said “mum I’ve been raped.” The screaming cry from her, it was so painful to hear. ‘Neither of us could really talk because we were crying so much. ‘Telling my mum what had happened made it all real. I’d been so desperate to talk to her as I’d been in this room with seven male police officers, all talking in Portuguese. ‘And my dad, I knew it would be even harder. I couldn’t even tell my dad myself. I couldn’t do it.’ Kate Juby with her mum Deborah Stanton, 56 before flying to Portugal (Picture: Triangle News) Police found Curado de Sousa that night and he was brought to the police station for an ID parade. Kate remembered: ‘The other side of the glass, there was the man that raped me. He was smiling. ‘It was as traumatising as being raped in the first place. ‘I started hysterically crying. Six hours before this man had raped me. No-one told me anything. I was completely alone.’ At 11pm, Kate was told she could go and was just left on the streets. Hezbollah added to list of terror groups in the UK Fortunately she was able to text her friends who came back to check on her but she had to make the flight back to the UK alone. In the aftermath of the attack, Kate dropped out of university and returned to live at home. She could only go out in groups of three or more and now crosses the road to avoid men. Astonishingly, Kate was sent a letter asking if she wanted to take Curado de Sousa to court. It took 18 months for that to happen and, while she was entitled to legal aid, she did not receive any. Instead she had to use a group of voluntary lawyers in Portugal and only met her legal representation two hours before the hearing. Kate was on what should have been the trip of a lifetime (Picture: Triangle News) Before the court appearance, Kate was offered an apology and expenses if she walked away without giving evidence. When she refused, Curado de Sousa admitted his guilt and was handed a paltry four-and-a-half year suspended sentence. He was ordered to pay £1,750 in compensation, which Kate has donated to the Portuguese Association for Victim Support. She said: ‘It was outrageous. And they said that in Portugal it was a really good result. ‘They have a serious problem over there with rape convictions. A really small percentage of rapists go to prison.’ Kate is now trying to get over what happened and has moved to Bristol to live with her boyfriend Mark. She is pressing ahead with plans to appeal Curado de Sousa’s punishment and the case will go before a higher Portuguese court. A documentary entitled Crime, Silence and Prejudice, has been made by a Portuguese cable news channel. Share this article via facebookShare this article via twitterShare this article via messenger MORE

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