Men awaiting sentence for sex offences against young girls

TWO Filipino men are to be sentenced in the New Year after they admitted the sexual abuse of two young girls.

Standing in the dock of Antrim Crown Court alongside an interpreter, both 37-year-old Garry Luna and 39-year-old Crisos Sonet entered guilty pleas to three of the offences against them.

Luna, with an address at Clarence Street in Ballymena, admitted meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual communication with a child and engaging in sexual activity with a child aged 13 to 16.

Sonet, with the same address, entered guilty pleas to two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault involving penetration, relating to a second victim.

Following the pair’s admissions, prosecuting counsel Suzanne Gallagher asked for the remaining charges against the defendants to be marked as left on the books.

Against Sonet, one charge of rape was not proceeded with while against Luna, the charges left on the books include rape, non-fatal strangulation (NFS), common assault, inciting child sexual activity and facilitating Sonet to engage in sexual intercourse.

An earlier court heard that according to the police case, the charges “stemmed from a report from the complainant that she had been seriously sexually assaulted on 24 May 2025”

During an unsuccessful application for bail on behalf of Luna, a police officer told the court Complainant A had provided an account that “she had been with a friend when they met the defendant and he took both girls” to the men’s home on Clarence Street in the town.

“She stated that both girls had been communicating with Luna by Facebook Messenger for a number of weeks prior to this,” said the detective.

At the Clarence Street house where both men lived, Luna “took them into the living room of the property” where he tried to kiss her and was “nipping her on the leg.”

“Grabbing her by the arm,” Luna led the girl upstairs and into a bedroom where Sonet was “sitting on the bed.”

Sonet’s victim reported to police that he subjected her to a “serious sexual assault,” the court heard.

When the victim got out of the room and went downstairs, she “heard her friend shouting from one of the bedrooms” and after she helped her open the door, both girls left the property.

Following the re-arraignment on Tuesday, defence barristers for the pair asked for sentencing to be adjourned to allow time for the completion of pre-sentence reports from the Probation Board.

Judge Sandra Crawford agreed and, remanding both men in continuing custody, she adjourned the plea and sentence to 29 January next year.