An officer from the Greater Manchester Police could be facing a lengthy prison sentence after having been accused of forcing himself on a woman he had befriended at a local pub. The Preston Crown Court heard Ernesto Ceraldi, 43, admitting to the attempted rape of the woman on April 2.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Ceraldi is a Tactical Dog and Firearms Officer in the police force. He has been in the service for 21 years and is understood to be married with children. At the time of the incident, the cop had displayed predatory behavior after he had gone off duty and went on a night out with friends in Lancashire where he met the victim. He apparently had won the woman’s trust after brandishing her with his warrant card and photos of his police K-9.
They then proceeded to the woman’s home at which around 1:30 am, the woman’s neighbor reported screaming from the next door and spotted Ceraldi naked outside of the woman’s house. The cop was accused by the woman of pulling her hair, choking her with both hands while spitting at her. When law enforcement officers arrived, they found Ceraldi naked on the couch telling officers that the sex was consensual.
Cops arrested Ceraldi at the scene and was taken into custody by the Lancashire Police. He was previously charged with rape and actual bodily harm but the rape charge was amended to attempted rape. While in custody, the police force has suspended Ceraldi as he waits for his sentencing on June 22. Judge Simon Medland addressed Ceraldi during his hearing and said, “Inevitably there will be a substantial and immediate sentence of imprisonment.”
GMP Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said in a statement, “Ceraldi's actions in relation to the offenses for which he has appeared in court today were nothing short of deplorable and he does not represent what we as police officers stand for in our duty to protect and serve our communities.”
Woods added that following Ceraldi’s sentencing, the incident will be dealt with accordingly by their Professional Standards Branch. It was only last year that another Met Police officer used his warrant card to lure a woman into his car before raping her. Wayne Couzen, raped and murdered marketing executive Sarah Everard bringing some 2,000 police and community support officers with accusations of sexual misconduct in the past four years.
