A MAN has been sentenced to almost four years in jail after CAIT detectives were able to link him to the sexual assault of a young girl in Harlow. 

Officers were alerted to an incident on Wednesday 15 June 2022 at Oakwood Pond off Fourth Avenue.

During the incident, a teenage girl was approached by a man shortly before 4.20pm and sexually assaulted her. 

Thankfully, she was able to get away and seek help. 

A police spokesperson said: “We then launched an investigation into the incident and used the description given to us by the victim in order to locate Luis Palma.

His distinctive clothing, a blue t-shirt, blue denim shorts and Vans-style trainers, allowed us to identify him using CCTV. His description and images of him were then circulated amongst officers who were patrolling across Harlow. 

On Friday 17 June, officers passed a man who was holding a Nike bag which appeared to be similar to one being carried by the man in the CCTV footage. He was then followed and paused to look back at officers before walking into two waiting officers ahead of him. 

“He was then arrested and during a search of his home, each of the distinctive items of clothing were all found.

As the investigation progressed, officers also uncovered sexually explicit messages on Instagram between Palma and a 14-year-old girl. Throughout the messages, the girl had made it clear that she was aged 14 but Palma pursued the conversation. 

Palma, 31, of Fold Croft, Harlow, was subsequently charged with sexual assault and sexually communicating with a 14-year-old girl between April 2022 and June 2022.

Palma appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court in February and admitted both charges. 

He was sentenced at the same court on Wednesday 10 April to 44 months in jail. He will remain on the sex offender’s register for life and will be deported at the end of his sentence.

“Officers were also successful in applying for a sexual harm prevention order and he has been banned from entering Harlow indefinitely”. 

Detective Sergeant Daniela Hogan, of the West Public Protection Hub, added: “Palma is a dangerous man. He caused incredible fear to the young victim, whose family still feel the impact of the incident today. 

“I must pay tribute to her; it was as a direct result of her description of her attacker that we were able to identify Palma on CCTV and ultimately make that image available to all officers in the area on patrol.”

DS Hogan added: “This was a long and complex investigation carried out by a specialist team in Harlow which ultimately meant that the evidence against Palma left him with very little choice but to admit his guilt and accept his sentence, which means he will not step foot in Harlow again. 

“I have absolutely no doubt that the town is safer place for that.”