Three asylum seekers found guilty of raping woman on Brighton beach

Sussex police say they have conducted a "fast-paced investigation" after a woman was attacked on Brighton beach in the early hours of Saturday, October 4.

The attack was described as “cynical, predatory and callous”, after the victim became separated from her friends on a night out.

All three men have had asylum applications rejected, and are currently in the process of appealing them.

Alshafe and Ahmadi were each found guilty of two counts of rape, following more than 12 hours of deliberation at the conclusion of a five-week trial.

Al-Danasurt was convicted on all four counts of rape as a secondary party for his role in encouraging the attack and recording it on his phone.

The court heard that the three men, who were residing in Home Office-approved hotel accommodation for asylum seekers near Horsham in West Sussex, targeted their victim in the early hours of October 4.

The victim was described as "staggering in the street" and "incapacitated" when the men spotted her and led her to an area behind beach huts in the East Sussex seaside city.

Alshafe and Ahmadi then subjected her to repeated sexual assaults, while Al-Danasurt arrived moments later and filmed the ordeal on his mobile phone.

Footage presented to the jury showed Alshafe grinning and protruding his tongue during the attack, as well as striking the woman across the face.

Both Alshafe and Ahmadi maintained throughout the trial that the encounter had been consensual, claiming the woman had approached them on the seafront, initiated physical contact, and led them to the beach herself.

Al-Danasurt told jurors he had attempted to intervene by filming what was happening, while denying allegations that he spat in the victim's mouth and called her a "dirty b****".

The victim, giving evidence from behind a screen, told the court: "It wasn't consensual, it was not consensual, they are evil and they have ruined my life."

She wept as she described the lasting trauma, stating: "It's the filmer's face I see every time I close my eyes, laughing at me."

In a recorded police interview played to jurors, the woman recounted regaining consciousness on the beach and fearing for her life, saying: "I closed my eyes because I thought 'oh my God, they're actually going to kill me', I can hear all these voices and I can't stop them."

She recalled being spat on, kicked, and having her throat grabbed while the men laughed.

Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC told the jury: "Frankly, to these defendants, the complainant was meat. She was repeatedly abused for their sexual gratification and entertainment."

The three defendants were all acquainted and living together at asylum seeker accommodation near Horsham at the time of the offence.

Ahmadi and Alshafe had first met while crossing the English Channel on a small boat from France, arriving in Britain on June 19 2025, while Al-Danasurt had reached the UK on September 21 2024 and shared a room with Alshafe at the hotel.

Earlier that night, the trio had visited a bar and nightclub on the seafront where Alshafe used Google Translate to chat with a woman about his aspirations for marriage and British citizenship, only for her to rebuff him after he touched her inappropriately.

The prosecutor told him directly: "That night, Mr Alshafe, you were nothing more than a nasty little predator."

Within minutes of leaving the scene, the victim contacted her friends and was described as "wailing and hysterical saying she has been raped".

The three men, meanwhile, caught a bus back to their hotel and later held a barbecue together that evening, at the same time their victim was awaiting a forensic medical examination.

Ahmadi departed the accommodation the following day without Home Office approval, relocating to an address in Crewe, Cheshire, where he was subsequently marked as having absconded and was apprehended on October 12.

Alshafe and Al-Danasurt, both of Lower Beeding near Horsham, were detained by officers at their hotel on October 13.

Forensic analysis of DNA samples taken from all three defendants found that genetic material from both Alshafe and Ahmadi matched samples recovered from the victim's body, while results for Al-Danasurt proved inconclusive.

Reacting to the verdict, Sussex Police Detective Chief Superintendent Richard McDonagh gave a statement outside the court, in which he said: "These three predatory men took advantage of an extremely vulnerable woman, subjecting her to a prolonged, harrowing ordeal.

"I do not underestimate the strength and courage it required to report this to the police and support the investigation as she dealt with the lasting impact of that morning’s incident. Thanks to this woman’s resolve, we have been able to bring her attackers to justice."

"My thanks also extend to the investigative team for their diligent work and our partners for their support to the investigation and the victim."

The men have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Hove Crown Court on July 15, 2026.