Joao Francisco was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child on Monday after a week long trial.
The victim, who was 16, initially reported the assault in October 2017.
Francisco, who is of no fixed abode, was charged in June 2019 but failed to appear in court in July 2019.
Enquires were made to locate Francisco, and a public media appeal was launched in October 2019.
Francisco subsequently handed himself into a police station in January 2020 after he saw a photo of himself on the internet.
Detective Sergeant Jasmine Abbey, East Area Command Unit, said: “I am glad that Francisco has been convicted and it hope it provides some comfort to the young victim, who has shown a lot of strength throughout the process.”
“A media appeal resulted in a number of invaluable calls from members of the public, who were intent on helping us catch Francisco. I want to thank every single one of those people who contacted us.”
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HeadlineMan, 44, convicted of sexual assault on a child
Short HeadlineMan guilty of sexual assault on a child
StandfirstA man has been convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court after he handed himself in to police following a public appeal.
Joao Francisco was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child on Monday after a week long trial.
The victim, who was 16, initially reported the assault in October 2017.
Francisco, who is of no fixed abode, was charged in June 2019 but failed to appear in court in July 2019.
Enquires were made to locate Francisco, and a public media appeal was launched in October 2019.
Francisco subsequently handed himself into a police station in January 2020 after he saw a photo of himself on the internet.
Detective Sergeant Jasmine Abbey, East Area Command Unit, said: “I am glad that Francisco has been convicted and it hope it provides some comfort to the young victim, who has shown a lot of strength throughout the process.”
“A media appeal resulted in a number of invaluable calls from members of the public, who were intent on helping us catch Francisco. I want to thank every single one of those people who contacted us.”
