Hernando Ferraro-Cordoba, a 61-year-old resident of Thorleye Road, Cambridge, has been sent back to prison after violating a court order imposed on him following his conviction for assaulting a woman at a gym. Ferraro-Cordoba had previously served a prison sentence for his actions in the city and was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) until 2030.
The SHPO prohibited Ferraro-Cordoba from attending or lingering near exercise classes, sports centres, gyms, swimming pools, sporting events, or arenas without prior permission from the force’s Public Protection Unit (PPU). However, just four months after his release from prison in March, on July 6, police were called after a man was seen interacting with teenage girls near the YMCA, which houses a gym among its facilities.
Investigations revealed that Ferraro-Cordoba was loitering in his car and propositioning girls, offering them alcohol and a drive in his car in exchange for sexual acts. The police promptly arrested him at his home in the early hours of the following morning. Through the meticulous work of the force’s Management of Sexual Offender and Violent Offender (MOSOVO) Unit, officers were able to piece together his movements.
Their investigation showed that Ferraro-Cordoba had passed car park banners advertising a gym and had visited the YMCA forecourt twice within five hours, including just a few hours before his arrest. CCTV footage captured him dropping off three teenage girls at the location. Further inquiries revealed that he had given flowers to one girl and had asked two others to accompany him to a hotel, which they declined.
During police interviews, Ferraro-Cordoba denied all offences against him, including loitering outside a gym. He claimed that one of the teenage girls had lied about her age and wanted to pursue a relationship with him. He chose to provide a “no comment” response to all other questions.
However, Ferraro-Cordoba stood trial at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court in August and was found guilty of breaching the SHPO by loitering outside a gym and breaching his Sex Offenders Register notification requirements by ordering a new bank card without registering it.
Subsequently, his case was transferred to Peterborough Crown Court for sentencing, where he received a prison term of one year and two months. The court also ordered the continuation of his SHPO until 2030.
Detective Constable Andrew McKeane, who led the investigation, expressed concern about Ferraro-Cordoba’s behaviour, particularly towards teenage girls, and described it as a disturbing case of attempted sexual exploitation. He urged parents and guardians to be vigilant for signs of exploitation and emphasised the seriousness with which the police and courts treat breaches of court orders like the SHPO.
