Brutal serial rapist who targeted teenagers and tourists sentenced to 20 years in prison

A rapist who committed a series of brutal sexual assaults on women has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Clinton Ferreira, 38, attacked a teenager celebrating her exam results and a tourist, and then raped a woman to whom he had offered his help.

He strangled two of his victims until they lost consciousness and then filmed the attacks with his mobile phone so he could “relive the experience”.

Truro Crown Court heard the attacks took place over a three-month period from August last year in St Ives, Cornwall.

South African-born Ferreira waited until his first victim was alone and then abused her on a deserted beach.

Three weeks later, he attempted to rape a single tourist in a tent. The following month, he led a drunken woman to his apartment, pretending to help her, and raped her there.

Ferreira, of Tregenna Place, St Ives, denied all the charges against him but was convicted following a trial.

He was found guilty of false imprisonment, violent assault, two counts of strangling a victim with intent to rape, attempted rape, taking indecent photographs of a child, assault and rape.

One of Ferreira’s victims described her fear of strangulation in a court statement and said it had destroyed her life.

“I was paralyzed and kept asking myself: How long will it take him to kill me? This question terrorizes me every day,” she said.

“I have sought therapy, but the whole incident has still left me psychologically damaged.”

The first victim stated in court: “I don’t go for a walk alone in the dark and I don’t want to go out during the day, let alone at night.

“During the attack, I was afraid for my life and had a real fear of being raped and murdered.”

Another victim reported that she suffered from nightmares and had trouble sleeping afterwards, which is why she barricaded her bedroom door with furniture.

“I used to enjoy going for walks and sitting on the beach in the evenings. But now I can’t stand it anymore because I feel unsafe,” she added.

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Defence lawyer Ramsay Quaife said Ferreira has since admitted attacking the women.

“He knows he hurt people and now he will have to pay for it,” he added.

Judge Simon Carr said Ferreira posed a “very serious danger” to women and he imposed a longer prison sentence to protect the public.

The judge said police found more than 200 hours of violent adult pornography and recordings of meetings with other women on a computer in Ferreira’s home.

Ferreira was sentenced to 20 years in prison and placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.