Man jailed for attempted rape and sexual assault in Southport flats
We can confirm that a man has been jailed for serious sexual offences against a woman in Southport.
Klintis Duarta, 28, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today (Wednesday 16 September) after admitting attempted rape and sexual assault. He was jailed for six years and eight months and will serve a further four years on licence.
Duarta, who is originally from Mozambique and visiting the country from Portugal, followed a woman into a block of flats on Sunday 21 June 2025 and committed the offences in the communal hallway.
He was arrested at Liverpool John Lennon Airport the following day after attempting to leave the country.
In a Victim Personal Statement, the woman said: “I have previously suffered with nightmares anyway however since the incident I often have nightmares about the incident whereby I find I wake up feeling panicked with a sense of anxiety that last for hours. Since the incident I now take extra caution and care when entering any building.
"I ensure that I have checked the area first before opening the door and making sure that this has closed behind me and no one else has come through. I am aware that these things happen however you don't usually believe that it would be on your doorstep let alone happen to yourself.”
Detective Superintendent Siobhan Russell said: “This was a relentless and sustained assault on a woman who was simply going about her day and visiting a friend. To be targeted in this manner by a complete stranger is utterly appalling.
“I want the public to be reassured that these incidents are rare. I also hope this sentencing shows how seriously the courts take these offences and how Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting anyone who has been subjected to such violence and sexual abuse.
“The victim has showed immense courage throughout. She managed to fight off Duarta during the incident and then went on to support the prosecution. As she detailed in her VPS, this has clearly had a huge impact on her life and I sincerely hope she can recover from what happened.
“Following the incident, we were absolutely determined to find the person responsible and carried out a thorough investigation that thankfully led to him being detained at the airport the following day.
“We take these reports extremely seriously and if you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, I urge you to please come forward and report this to police.”
To report a sexual offence you can call 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers or you can pass information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always call 999.
If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape, you can access specialist support services, which are free of charge and available to anyone. You do not need a referral or to have reported an incident to Merseyside Police before you access these specialist support services.
These services can support you in a variety of ways, including offering a confidential discussion if you are thinking of making a police report, but are unsure what that involves and would like to discuss it.
If you do decide to report to Merseyside Police, you will receive support throughout the investigation, court process and beyond.
You can choose to make an anonymous report through the Sexual Assault Referral Centre called Safe Place, or the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor service, rather than coming directly to Merseyside Police.
With no police involvement, a specialist doctor at Safe Place can examine you to check that you are ok and look for DNA evidence, which they will store to support your case. This gives you the option of making a formal police report at a later time, if you choose to.
Support is also available in Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, from Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.
If you do not require immediate police assistance, then you can report rape and sexual assault via our website here:
Support is also available through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service: Home: Victim Care Merseyside
We recently launched our Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) campaign to put the voices of women and girls at the heart of our work to tackle VAWG. You can find out more about the campaign here: www.merseyside.police.uk/vawg
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