Asylum seekers ‘gang-raped vulnerable woman on beach as she made her way home from night out, with one filming ordeal’, trial told
Asylum seekers ‘gang-raped vulnerable woman on beach as she made her way home from night out, with one filming ordeal’, trial told
A woman in her thirties was subjected to a brutal sexual assault by three asylum seekers who laughed and spat at her while one captured the incident on video, according to testimony at a court hearing. The attack occurred on a secluded stretch of Brighton beach as she returned from a night out with friends.
Victim’s Account of the Attack
The woman, who remains unidentified, described being left bloodied and disoriented during the assault, with her consciousness fluctuating. Mobile phone footage appeared to show one of her alleged attackers smiling and sticking his tongue out, while another posed for the camera. The video was said to capture the moment of her being dragged onto pebbles by the assailants.
“Instead of offering her help or even just leaving her be, these defendants targeted her. And that targeting was not founded in good will or bonhomie, high spirits—it was cynical, predatory and callous,” said the prosecutor, Hanna Llewellyn-Waters.
Charges and Allegations
Two of the three asylum seekers are accused of committing the physical acts of rape, while the third is charged with four counts of rape by orchestrating the attack and sharing intimate videos. The prosecutor emphasized the intent behind the crime, stating, “They wanted sex and that, members of the jury, could be achieved by being with someone who was in no state to resist them.”
The alleged victims were residents of Cisswood House Hotel in Horsham, a Home Office-approved accommodation for individuals seeking or appealing asylum status. The court heard the woman had spent several hours drinking with her friends before the incident, leaving her unable to stand and on the verge of unconsciousness.
Details of the Ordeal
Prosecutors revealed that the woman believed she might have been filmed during the attack, as she noticed a man looking down at her. She recalled hearing laughter and another man abusing her. In a police interview, she described the experience as “as if [her] soul was leaving [her] body,” adding, “I could see a light in my face, like when you put a flash on a camera.”
The defendants were said to have offered her drugs at the Horizon nightclub earlier that evening, though she declined. Jurors were informed she may have been spiked. The attack took place near a wall on the beach, with the woman being physically restrained and her mouth opened by the man filming.
Aftermath and Evidence
One clip, found on Al-Danasurt’s phone, showed Abdulla Amih Ahmadi covering his face during the alleged assault, possibly to obscure his identity from the camera. Another pixelated video, shared by the police for modesty, depicted Ibrahim Alshafe lifting his head to face the camera, smiling and sticking out his tongue.
Following the incident, Ahmadi fled the Cisswood Hotel the day after the attack, moving to an address in Crewe without Home Office permission. He was later arrested by police a week later. All three defendants deny the charges, with Al-Danasurt claiming he did not record the woman as she was being attacked.
