Three men who raped woman on Brighton beach jailed

Three men who raped a woman on Brighton beach in an "entirely predatory, callous and contemptuous" attack have been jailed.

Asylum seekers Abdulla Ahmadi, Ibrahim Alshafe and Karin Al-Danasurt attacked the woman in the early hours of 4 October.

The victim, who jurors heard was "led into the darkness to be used as a sexual plaything", said she still heard their laughter when she closed her eyes, adding: "My skin crawls - no matter how hard I scrub it I still feel dirty."

Ahmadi, 26, from Iran, and Alshafe, 26, from Egypt, were each jailed for 21 years. Al-Danasurt, 21, also from Egypt, was convicted of rape as a secondary party for filming the attack and was jailed for 18 years and six months.

Each of the men will also spend a further six years on extended licence, and will serve two thirds of their sentence before they can be considered for parole.

Warning: Some readers may find the following details distressing.

The court previously heard from prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC, who said the three men were "on the lookout for women that night for sexual purposes" as they visited bars and nightclubs on Brighton seafront.

After leaving a club, the men crossed paths with the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at a fast-food restaurant and they all went to the beach.

Jurors heard the woman was "staggering in the street" and was "incapacitated".

Alshafe and Ahmadi took her behind a beach hut, where they raped her while Al-Danasurt filmed the ordeal.

The trial heard the woman recalled being spat on, kicked and her throat being grabbed during the attack.

Alshafe and Ahmadi had tried to claim during the trial the encounter was consensual, while Al-Danasurt claimed he was filming to try to help the woman by capturing potential evidence.

Their victim said she had regained consciousness lying on the beach and thought she was going to be killed.

Breaking down in tears, she told the court that every time she closed her eyes she saw "the filmer's face" laughing at her.

Sentencing the three men at Hove Crown Court, Her Honour Judge Christine Henson KC said each of them "participated in an entirely predatory and callous attack".

She added: "The impact on your victim was and continues to be devastating. It has had a life changing profound and irrevocable impact on her.

"You each treated her with contempt and you each played a role in further degrading her in the most appalling way.

"The arrogant and entitled attitude you each displayed that night continued through your trial."

In a statement read to the court, the woman said: "If I could do one thing I would go back to that night and never go out.

"All I see when I close my eyes is the man who was filming it. All I can hear is the seagulls and the waves and the laughter in my head."

She said: "Sometimes it feels like the noises will never stop.

"I ask myself what kind of person would do this, let alone three."

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