This is Luiz da Silva Neto giving his account of his meeting with his second victim.
The married company director had been at Raffles nightclub, on Chelsea’s Kings Road, on the night he met the 36-year-old on December 10 last year.
Da Silva Neto, who this week was found guilty of drugging and raping the man, claimed to have bumped into him as he stopped to get cash from a bank near the club.
READ MORE:
- Detective fears there may be more victims
- Da Silva Neto guilty of drugging, sexual assault and rape
- Jury hears from second victim
“I stopped to get some cash out and I started talking to this guy. He told me that he’d been to the club. I was like do you want to have a drink together. He was like ‘yeah, I’m married but yeah’. Then we decided to go have a drink,” he told police officers who arrested him on December 12 – two days after the allegations came to light.
On da Silva Neto’s account, the man got into his hired Zipcar willingly. They drove to a friend’s flat in Bayswater before they went on to the defendant’s cottage in Middle Barton, west Oxfordshire. He claimed the other man had initiated the sexual activity with him.
The victim told jurors he had almost no memory of the events of the evening, only a ‘tunnel vision’ recollection of being given a drink as he lay on a bed. He woke the next morning at 10am to find he was naked in a stranger’s house – and miles away from the capital.
Interviewed by police last December, da Silva Neto played down his then alleged victim’s state of inebriation.
“He seemed absolutely fine when I met him. He was not drunk or drugged,” he said.
“He was absolutely fine. Fine, fine, fine. Asking for kisses and, you know, cuddles and stuff.”
Video from the police interviews has been released by Thames Valley Police. Detectives fear da Silva Neto may have offended against other victims and have urged those who believe they may have been assaulted by him to come forward.
Da Silva Neto, of Wandsworth, will be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday. He was acquitted of kidnapping the second victim.
Read more from this author
This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article