Three men jailed for Brighton beach rape

Three men who raped a woman on Brighton beach in a “totally predatory, callous and degrading” attack have been jailed.

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

The victim, who jurors heard was “taken into the dark to be used as a sexual toy”, said she could still hear their laughter when she closed her eyes, adding: “My skin tingles, no matter how hard I scrub, I still feel dirty.”

Ahmadi, 26, from Iran, and Alshafe, 26, from Egypt, were sentenced to 21 years in prison each. Al-Danasurt, 21, also Egyptian, was found guilty of rape as a secondary party for filming the attack and was sentenced to 18 years and six months in prison.

The men will also each spend an additional six years on extended license and serve two-thirds of their sentences before being considered for parole.

Warning: Some readers may find the following details upsetting.

The court had previously heard from prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC, who said the three men “surveilled women for sexual purposes that night” while visiting bars and nightclubs on Brighton seafront.

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

Jurors heard the woman was “staggering in the street” and “clumsy”.

Alshafe and Ahmadi took her behind a beach hut and raped her while Al-Danasurt suffered the ordeal.

It was heard at the hearing that the woman was spat on, kicked and her throat was held during the attack.

While Alshafe and Ahmadi attempted to argue during the trial that the encounter was consensual, Al-Danasurt claimed he filmed to try to help the woman by capturing potential evidence.

His victims said he regained consciousness while lying on the beach and thought he was going to be killed.

Through tears, he told the court that every time he closed his eyes he saw “the face of the person filming” smiling at him.