A 19-year-old man has been jailed for six years and nine months after raping a vulnerable young woman inside a portable toilet on Bournemouth seafront.
Mohammed Abdullah, who came to Britain from Syria in 2023, was convicted of rape and sexual assault by penetration following an eight-day trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.
A jury rejected his claim that the sexual activity had been consensual.
Abdullah will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
The victim was trying to get home
The attack happened during the early hours of 6 July 2023, when the victim, who was also 19, became separated from a friend following a night out.
She had been drinking heavily and was walking alone along Bournemouth promenade after her phone battery died, leaving her unable to call a taxi.
The young woman approached Abdullah and his friends and asked to borrow a phone so she could check directions.
One member of the group suggested Abdullah could give her a lift home on his e-bike.
Instead, the court heard, Abdullah stopped beside a portable toilet, pulled the woman inside and locked the door.
Woman fought attacker inside toilet
Prosecutor Mark Eldridge told the court that the victim struggled and attempted to fight Abdullah during the sexual attack.
She eventually stopped resisting in the hope that doing so would make the ordeal end sooner.
The woman also suffered a burst lip after Abdullah kissed her aggressively.
Afterwards, Abdullah cycled back towards his friends while the traumatised woman fled barefoot.
She approached members of the public and pleaded to use their phones before telling her mother that she had been raped and contacting police.
‘Whimpering, like a puppy dog’
Giving evidence during the trial, the victim described being pinned down and unable to fight back.
She told the court she remembered “whimpering, like a puppy dog” during the attack.
The court heard about the profound impact the rape has subsequently had on her life.
She described being “petrified of all men”, suffering panic attacks and experiencing recurring nightmares in which she is trapped inside the portable toilet.
She has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and told the court she had experienced suicidal thoughts following the attack.
Judge brands Abdullah a ‘sexual predator’
Abdullah denied the offences and maintained that the encounter had been consensual.
Jurors rejected his account and convicted him of rape and sexual assault by penetration.
Sentencing him, Judge Robert Pawson described Abdullah as a “sexual predator” who “knew precisely what he was going to do” after encountering the vulnerable woman.
The judge told him:
“The one thing you might have done if you had showed a shred of decency was to plead guilty, but you put your victim through the ordeal of a trial.”
Abdullah was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.
The court heard that Abdullah arrived in the UK from Syria in 2023 under a family reunion scheme and was granted permanent leave to remain.
Police praise victim’s courage
Detective Inspector Shaun Inkpen, of Dorset Police, praised the young woman’s courage throughout the investigation and prosecution.
He said she had demonstrated “immense strength, courage and resilience”.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Samantha Wright said Abdullah had exploited a vulnerable young woman who had simply been trying to find her way home safely.
She said the victim’s bravery had helped ensure a dangerous offender was held accountable.
The Crown Prosecution Service added that violence against women and girls “has no place in our communities” and said prosecutors would continue working with police to bring perpetrators to justice.
