'Brazen predator' drugged men with GHB then sexually assaulted them in Oxfordshire cottage
Boydcam footage of the moment Da Silva Neto was arrested.
A man has been found guilty of drugging and raping two men at a cottage in an Oxfordshire village.
A jury at Oxford Crown Court found 36-year-old Luiz Da Silva Neto of Wandsworth, London, gave his victims the date rape drug GHB to incapacitate them before sexually assaulting them.
Da Silva Neto 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.
He was cleared of kidnap and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The jury of five men and seven women took 14 hours 36 minutes to return all the verdicts.
Da Silva Neto, who was wearing a grey suit and blue shirt, shook his head when the verdicts were read out, then broke into tears, covering his face. He had to be led out of court by security officers.
Da Silva Neto sexually abused his first victim in November 2021 when the man had visited him at a house in Middle Barton. After a few drinks, the victim recalled feeling extremely tired before falling asleep. He woke up to find himself naked and Da Silva Neto sexually assaulting him.
A month later, a second man who had been out for the evening with work colleagues in London suffered memory loss. He remembered waking up naked in bed in a stranger’s house. It was the same house in Oxfordshire.
When interviewed, Da Silva Neto accepted that he had engaged in sexual activity with both men. However, he claimed it was fully consensual in both cases and denied drugging either of his victims.
On Wednesday, jurors unanimously cleared Da Silva Neto of one count of administering a substance with intent to stupefy or overpower to allow sexual activity, in relation to the encounter with the second victim.
'I feel like it's eating me up inside'
Speaking after his conviction one of Da Silva's victims 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.”
Det Insp James Holden-White, Thames Valley Police, said: "Mr. De Silva Neto is a predatory sex offender.
"Quite honestly, when you look at his method of offending and the brazenness with which he operates and the confidence he has in the crimes that he's committing and how he thinks he can he can get away with them and bluster."
Da Silva Neta will be sentenced on Thursday 7 July.
District Crown Prosecutor Claire Beards from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Luiz Inacio Da Silva Neto opportunistically targeted his victims, drugging and then sexually assaulting them when they were in no position to consent.
“He denied any wrongdoing and claimed his actions were all done consensually.
"However, 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.
“I hope today’s verdict brings both those men a sense of justice.”