Survivor who was drugged and sexually assaulted tells of ‘worst experience’

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A man who was drugged and sexually assaulted has said it was the “worst experience I have ever survived or lived through”, in an interview released after his perpetrator was convicted by a jury.

Luiz Da Silva Neto, 36, of Wandsworth, south London, denied drugging two men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, potentially with GHB or GBL and sexually assaulting them in November and December 2021.

But at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday and Friday, he was found guilty of one count of rape, two counts of administering a substance with intent and two counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

In an interview with Sky News, made public after Da Silva Neto’s conviction, the first victim, a heterosexual man, told how the crimes affected his life.

In relation to victim one, Da Silva Neto was found guilty of administering a substance with intent and causing him to engage in sexual activity without consent.

This assault took place at a house in Middle Barton, Oxfordshire, on November 9 and 10 after victim one and Da Silva Neto had shots of Jagermeister.

Victim one began to feel tired and went to sleep fully clothed before waking up naked, unable to move due to being drugged, while being sexually assaulted, the court heard.

He says he was diagnosed with PTSD, needs counselling, struggles to sleep and socialise, and sometimes loses his vision and hearing.

He said: “This is my duty to come forward because these type of people are dangerous to society.

“Basically, he drugged me and he used me, I don’t want to go into details, I don’t want to memorise it again, I don’t want to relive it.

“I feel more anxious, I see a counsellor and psychologist and it’s not easy.

“Sometimes I have panic attacks, I can’t socialise, I can’t, I just, just trusting people from a certain way is just not the same and I was diagnosed with PTSD.

“I feel like it is eating me up inside…

“For me, this is the worst experience I have ever survived or lived through…

“Sometimes I get really angry as well because I just can’t, it’s not like killing someone, it’s like they did it, they do something to you and you have to live with it for the rest of your life.”

Describing the night he was sexually assaulted, he added: “It knocked me out, instantly like in 10 minutes… I barely could stand on my my feet.”

District Crown prosecutor Claire Beards, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Da Silva Neto opportunistically targeted his victims, drugging and then sexually assaulting them when they were in no position to consent.

“Thanks to the incredible bravery of the victims in coming forward with their accounts, and supporting drug evidence, we were able to build a strong case against him so that the jury could be sure he was guilty.”

Da Silva Neto will be sentenced on July 7 at Oxford Crown Court.