MIGUEL DE FREITAS SENTENCED IN JERSEY FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES INVOLVING MINORS AND DEPORTATION
In September 2019, a serious case involving Miguel de Freitas, a 28-year-old resident of Jersey, culminated in his being sentenced to a significant prison term following charges related to the solicitation and exploitation of minors.The court proceedings revealed disturbing details about his conduct, which included sending explicit messages and photographs to both a decoy posing as a young girl and an actual minor.
De Freitas appeared before the Royal Court on a Friday to face sentencing for multiple offenses, including the transmission of sexual messages and explicit images, as well as a separate charge of being drunk and disorderly.
The court was informed that his actions involved two separate victims: one was an adult operating a fake profile, and the other was a genuine minor whom he was attempting to persuade into sexual activity.
Prosecutor Crown Advocate Conrad Yates outlined the details of the case, emphasizing that one of the key offenses involved De Freitas communicating via Facebook with a profile controlled by Cheyenne O’Connor, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl.
During these exchanges, De Freitas repeatedly called her “beautiful” and asked her to send a photo of herself in a bikini.
The messages escalated to more explicit content, including De Freitas sending a photograph of his genitals and making disturbing comments about their supposed sexual encounter, stating, “You’re going to have sex with me, it’s not beautiful and it’s going to be your first… yes it hurts and only at the beginning.” Furthermore, the court heard that De Freitas and the decoy had arranged to meet in person, a plan that was thwarted when screenshots of their conversations were handed over to the police by Ms.
O’Connor.
During police questioning, De Freitas admitted to the messages but attempted to justify his actions.
The second charge involved messages sent to an actual minor, in which he complimented her physical appearance and expressed his sexual interest, stating he was “horny” for her.
He also tried to manipulate her into deleting their conversations to keep their contact secret, urging her to do so with comments like, “You know that I am young.
And you can be arrested if anyone knows about our conversations…” In a particularly disturbing development, De Freitas sent the minor a photo of his erect penis and continued to proposition her for sex, encouraging her not to be “scared.” When questioned about the explicit photo, he claimed it was sent in error due to his broken phone, asserting, “My phone is all smashed and was doing random things on its own accord.” Aside from these sexual offenses, De Freitas was also charged with being drunk and disorderly during an incident involving threats made to his former partner outside her residence.
The Crown Advocate recommended a custodial sentence of two years for the combined offenses.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Advocate Michael Haines acknowledged that his client was aware of the difference between right and wrong, but he also highlighted De Freitas’s challenging childhood and work ethic, asserting that Jersey was his home and advocating for a non-custodial sentence.
Despite these pleas, the court decided to impose a prison sentence of two-and-a-half years, which exceeded the Crown’s recommendation.
Lieutenant Bailiff Antony Olsen, presiding over the case with Jurats Ronge and Thomas, informed De Freitas that he would be required to register as a sex offender for a minimum of six years.
Additionally, restrictive orders were issued to prevent him from having unsupervised contact with minors for the same period.
The court also recommended that upon his release, De Freitas be deported back to Madeira, reflecting the seriousness of his offenses and the court’s concern for public safety.
Details of the sentence, including the reasons behind the court’s decision, are to be documented in a written judgment to be issued at a later date.
