Failed asylum seeker punched woman in the face after she rejected him | UK | News
Abdoela Berhan punched Cleo Lake outside a nightclub in Bournemouth (Image: Getty)
An asylum seeker knocked out a young woman with a single punch after she rejected him along with her friends. Abdoela Berhan, 35, punched Cleo Lake in the face, knocking her unconscious, before running away.
Miss Lake, now 21, described CCTV footage of the attack as “difficult to watch” and her mother gasped loudly as she saw the moment her daughter was attacked at Southampton Magistrates’ Court.
In December 2024, the Eritrean national sat next to Miss Lake and two friends outside the Cameo nightclub in Bournemouth, Dorset, and tried to put his arm around one of them.
Ms Lake said: “He tried to sit with us. I felt uncomfortable because none of us knew who he was, it was dark and there was no one around.
“I told him to fuck off, but he didn’t like it. We were arguing, swearing at each other, he got too close, so I pushed him back. He turned around and kicked me, but he missed, so I kicked him.”
Abdoela Berhan was sentenced to 6 months in prison (Image: Getty)
That’s when the man pulled back his left arm and shook his fist at the woman’s face. Great Britain News reported. In the CCTV footage, it is seen that Miss Lake fell to the ground and Berhan did not move while running away.
His friends were some distance away from him when it happened. At first they thought he was sleeping, but then they realized something was wrong. Ms Lake was taken to hospital by ambulance, but after waiting four hours to be seen, she went home.
When she later went to the GP to fix her crooked nose, they said it had definitely been broken during the attack. He told the court about the impact the attack had on him.
She said: “I didn’t go out for a while. I had pretty bad anxiety around boys, I just felt really uncomfortable around them.
“Even now, a year and a half later, I won’t go to clubs unless there are a lot of us or someone’s boyfriend is there for protection. Because I think something bad is going to start.”
Berhan later claimed that he had acted in self-defense when he was arrested. He said: “There were three girls, I approached them and asked them to give me a lighter.
“The person standing said ‘fuck you’ and tried to scare me. I was defending myself with my elbows. I had no intention of attacking him.”
District Judge Orla Austin gave Berham the maximum possible sentence of six months in prison for assault. He said: “You made an offer to Miss Lake but she was rejected. She had the right to refuse your advances. She was a young woman.
“I am satisfied there was a high level of violence used against her. Although you say you were defending yourself in some way, the footage clearly shows otherwise. You denied all charges and took Ms Lake to court.
“I think this is an exceptional case. Very serious violence was committed against a young woman who refused your offer.”
