A former Princeton University student and professional rugby player has been jailed for 23 years after violently raping two women in London.
Paulo Kretteis, 22 of Northolt, west London was found guilty of two counts of rape and making a threat to kill following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court in January.
The dual Brazilian national, who previously played rugby professionally for the Ealing Trailfinders, was described as a ‘real danger to women, who took ‘real pleasure’ in the ‘fear, pain and humiliation’ of his victims.
The former Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student at the Ivy League University in New Jersey was thrown out of the prestigious American school in May 2019
The former Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student at the Ivy League University in New Jersey was thrown out of the prestigious school in May 2019 following a proven allegation of ‘non-consensual sexual intercourse’ following an internal investigation.
He appealed the decision, but was expelled. He never faced criminal charges following the investigation.
Deputy University spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss said ‘[t]he University cannot comment on specific disciplinary matters.’
During the trial earlier this year, the court heard that Kretteis has been in London when he befriended his first victim outside The Chatsworth Bar in Acton in the early hours of October 13, 2019.
The court heard that he had walked the 25-year-old back to her home in Hammersmith and as they approached a secluded footbridge, he grabbed hold of her throat and threatened to kill her.
He then attacked her, hitting her in the face, before orally raping her.
He claimed he was not the man seen in CCTV footage because the hairstyle on the man in the clip was different to his own, but Instagram posts matched images of him at the scene wearing a Princeton University top
In what was described as a ‘particularly chilling’ part of the attack, he told her to smile when she asked if she still had all her teeth left after he hit her.
The victim was able to escape and flag down a taxi driver for help before calling the police, but Kretteis ran from the scene.
He claimed he was not the man seen in CCTV footage because the hairstyle on the man in the clip was different to his own, but Instagram posts matched images of him at the scene wearing a Princeton University top.
The court heard that the victim now suffers numbness to the left side of her face and has difficulties with one of her eyes.
She also experiences repeated flashbacks, and has constant feelings of anger and uncontrollable crying.
In the early hours of December 15, 2019, Kretteis attacked his second victim at an apartment in Ealing.
The court heard that when the victim, 20, refused to let Kretteis film them having sex, he attacked her, grabbing her neck in what the judge described as ‘the most dangerous and traumatic way for any woman.’
He attacked her a second time in a locked room where she was sleeping by forcing a pillow over her face.
She was left with bruising on her face and throat, as well as bite marks. Clumps of her hair were also found at the address.
In a victim impact statement, one victim said she was made to feel like she ‘deserved it’
The victim said she thought he was trying to kill her, and that she had been left ‘physically, psychologically and emotionally’ harmed by the attack, and took to sleeping with a kitchen knife by her bed.
She also said that she was unable to swallow solid food for days and could only sleep during the day with her mother in the room.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said: ‘He made me feel like I deserved it and was being dramatic for reporting it to the police.’
Kretteis had tried to manipulate her and, on one occasion, tried to persuade her to retract her statement.
‘He said he only did it to me because of how much he loved me which is something that has haunted me ever since,’ she said.
‘I have lost my ability to trust many people, especially men, and find it difficult to create new connections with new people.’
Images of Kretteis wearing the top (pictured) were captured on CCTV
Kretteis was identified in February last year from the DNA found on the jacket his first victim had left behind in the struggle, which was found dumped in a nearby bin.
The court heard he alleged that his victims attacked him first.
One of his victims sat in court as Kretteis’ barrister, Nicola Shannon, said his academic achievements and ‘determination’ showed ‘promise’ that he could be rehabilitated.
She told the court has was an A* students who supported his single mother and siblings.
She added that his ‘dreams of playing for Brazil were thwarted by an injury, and have now been eclipsed by this offending.’
‘He is some who appears before the court as someone with the ability to lead an upstanding life, to show determination, character, and assistance to others,’ she said.
‘He was exposed to violence in the home, whether that was from his father or step-father, consistently throughout early years years and into his teenage years. He had picked up those attitudes to deal with conflict and had become a habit that, when challenged, violence would be resorted to him.
‘It does prove some reassurance that there is a known cause and a degree of understanding and insight on Mr Kretteis’ part and that might lead to him begin to mature out of those attitudes going forward.’
Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh sentenced Kretteis to 10 years in prison for the first rape, and handed a consecutive eight year term for the second, with a five year period on extended licence.
He also handed down concurrent sentences of three years and 11 months for the ABH offences and four years for making threats to kill.
Kretteis, of Petts Hill, Ealing, was sentenced to 23 years at Isleworth Crown Court
He told Kretteis, ‘In both their cases they were in no position whatsoever to resist the violence, both sexual and physical, you inflicted on them by reason of your considerable size and strength.’
‘You had been expelled from Princeton University in May of that year after an internal [investigation] had concluded you had non-consensual sex with a woman there.
‘It was the clearest possible warning for your behaviour society could give you apart from a criminal conviction.
‘You continue, quite absurdly, to blame your victims saying that each had attacked you first. Their injuries were caused exactly how they described in the course of two ferocious attacks on them.
‘When eventually arrested, because the police were called after the second incident, you were interviewed and you denied matters. You claimed she self-harmed. You represent a high risk of harm to women.
‘It is a measure of your arrogance and lack of respect for women that, instead of being deterred by what happened in America, you went on to commit the serious offences for which I have to sentence you today.’
He will serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before he is considered for release.
