A Syrian refugee has been convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in a locked beach toilet after offering her a ride home. Mohammed Abdullah's victim broke down in tears as the verdicts were delivered at Bournemouth Crown Court, where the judge informed Abdullah that a prison sentence was 'inevitable'.
The Attack
The young woman was walking home alone along Bournemouth seafront in the early hours of July 6 last year following a night out when she encountered a group of men, including Abdullah. Her mobile phone had died, and she asked the group if she could use one of their phones to check maps for directions. Abdullah then offered her a lift on his bicycle, but after riding a short distance, he stopped next to portable toilets on the promenade and forcibly dragged her towards them. He sexually assaulted her before pushing her into a toilet, locking the door, and raping her.
After the assault, Abdullah cycled back to his friends while the woman, now 20, flagged down a stranger and used his phone to call her mother, saying, 'I've been raped.'
Court Proceedings
Abdullah, who arrived in the UK in 2023 with his family, denied the charges, claiming the encounter was consensual. However, following an eight-day trial, a jury found him guilty of both rape and sexual assault. Judge Robert Pawson adjourned sentencing for reports but remanded Abdullah into custody, stating, 'The sentence has to be decided but it will inevitably involve immediate custody.'
Victim's Testimony
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, recounted the harrowing experience in court. She described whimpering like a 'puppy dog' and crying during the attack. 'I told myself something is going to happen here, I need to remember what I have seen,' she said. 'I remember being pinned. I tried to fight a little bit. I couldn't really do anything, I was in shock.' She added that she froze when Abdullah dragged her into the portable toilet and locked the door. 'He forced me over and lifted my skirt. I just froze. In the toilet I remember he said "you like, you like", I was saying no. I just allowed it to happen, I thought it would be over quicker that way.'
The victim acknowledged that she had been drinking and felt vulnerable. 'I feel if I had been sober it wouldn't have happened. I would have been able to protect myself more, push him off me more. I couldn't do anything, I was drunk, I was in a very vulnerable state. I was walking home by myself, I had no phone.'
Judge's Remarks
Judge Pawson noted that Abdullah, from West Drayton, Middlesex, had traveled from London with friends and took advantage of the victim's vulnerable state. 'You deliberately took her further up the beach to the portaloos, which in my judgement on the evidence you knew were there and knew were open. You locked her in the portaloo and you raped her.' Abdullah, who entered the UK under a family reunion scheme in 2023, showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
