Sex attacker Alejandro Cuenca crept into girls' bed

Alejandro Cuenca, described as extremely dangerous by a judge, was released under investigation after climbing through a window to attack the girl as she slept.

Sussex police released him under investigation and two months later he struck again.

He broke into the home of a woman and attacked her as she changed out of her work clothes.

Schizophrenic Alejandro Cuenca, has been sent to a secure hospital indefinitely.

Lewes Crown Court heard Cuenca, 25, specifically targeted his victims and planned his attacks.

He pleaded guilty to four charges in February.

Sentencing was delayed while he was assessed by experts at a secure hospital in Kent.

He assaulted the 13-year-old girl while she was on a sleepover at a friends house in Eastbourne.

Cuenca admitted two counts each of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

On June 1, 2017, the girl and her friend heard Cuenca talking on his phone outside their window at around 1am.

Gabby Henty, prosecuting, said: “A couple of hours later, they heard him again. He shouted up to them.

“One of the things he shouted was sleep.”

The girls closed the curtains but could not secure the window latch.

They went to sleep and an hour later, the girl woke to find Cuenca in bed next to her.

“She punched him and told him to f**k off.

“The girl thought he was one of the boys who were also on the sleepover,” Ms Henty said.

“He was whispering Sex, sex, f**k, f**k.”

The girl alerted the other people in the flat, Cuenca fled and the police were called.

He turned up at the home he shared with his sister close by.

Two weeks later police in Eastbourne arrested him.

The 13-year-old girl picked him out from an identify parade a week later.

Police referred him to psychiatric care and he was treated as an out patient.

He was discharged on July 15 after saying he did not want any more appointments.

But two months later he struck again.

On September 15, a woman getting undressed after arriving home from work at her flat in Eastbourne heard a noise.

The woman had undressed down to her underwear when she looked around and saw a hand on the staircase leading to her bedroom.

Cuenca entered the room and grabbed her.

Ms Henty said: “He grabbed her vagina.

“She was punching, kicking and slapping him.

“She pulled her window open and tried to call for help. Eventually, he let go.”

The next day, the woman saw Cuenca in Tesco and called police again.

She pointed him out to police and he was arrested.

DNA from a scarf found in the flat matched samples from the victim.

Cuenca gave no comment in interviews to Sussex Police.

He sat motionless in court flanked by two medical staff and a Spanish interpreter.

Natasha Dardashti, for his defence, said: “I’m satisfied he knows why he is here, but he is not very responsive.”

Ms Henty added: “There was a significant degree of planning with the attack on the teenage girl.

“One of the aggravating factors is the defendant being released by police to mental health services.

“The more serious are count two and count four.

“They deal with entry into the victim’s home.

“There must’ve been a specific targeting of a vulnerable victim.

“He was released by police between offences.”

Dr Jonathan Pyott from the Trevor Gibbens unit near Maidstone, Kent, said there was a clear diagnosis of schizophrenia and Cuenca showed violent sexual compulsion.

He was asked to assess Cuenca before the sentencing hearing.

“We believe he had been unwell for some years,” the doctor said.

“A long course of treatment will be required.”

Born in Spain, Cuenca spent years living in Ecuador before moving to the UK.

Her honour judge Christine Laing QC described Cuenca as extremely dangerous.

“This was extremely serious offending involving attacks on two females

"One a child and the other an adult who believed they were safe in their own homes.

“Thankfully, the sexual assault on the 13-year-old didn’t go as far as it could have.

"The very serious assault on the second victim is going to have a very long lasting effect on her.”

The judge said had she been sending Cuenca to prison, his sentence would have been in double figures with an extended licence period.

After reading psychiatric reports, the judge ordered him to be detained indefinitely in a secure hospital.

She said: “Despite the nature of the offending, a hospital order is the most appropriate, not the punishment imprisonment would bring about.

“I’m also satisfied it is the most appropriate for the protection of the public,” Judge Laing QC said.

“He is extremely unwell and, for as long as he remains unwell, he is a risk to the public and for that reason the treatment and restriction order on his release is necessary,” the judge said.

Sentencing him to a secure hospital, the judge added: “This was extremely serious offending.

“Were it be a prison sentence, I have no doubt it would be in double figures with an extended licence.

“I’m satisfied he meets the dangerousness criteria.”

A spokesman for Sussex police said the force held Cuenca for 24 hours before releasing him under investigation.

“Cuenca was arrested on June 14, 2017, having been identified as a suspect for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl at a house in Eastbourne on June 1.

“He was questioned and released under investigation into the care of health professionals on June 15 for enquiries to continue.

“He was not previously known to police.

“On September 13, 2017, Cuenca sexually assaulted an adult woman in her home in Eastbourne.

“The following day he was arrested, charged with both offences and remanded in custody for court.”