Two Syrian men have each been jailed for 11 years for raping a drunk teenage girl they met in a nightclub. Dilgash Adil, 32, plied the 18-year-old with drink until she was “falling down” drunk, and after carrying out a sex assault, “invited” his friend, Diyar Mohammed Abdulsalm, 28, to also rape the teenager, Chester Crown Court heard.
Attack details
The young woman kept blacking out during the sex attack after she travelled back with the men to Abdulsalm’s accommodation in a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) in Winsford, Cheshire, on December 21 last year. Both men claimed the woman consented to sex and denied rape, but were convicted after a trial ending last month.
Adil, who was a shepherd in his native Syria before the civil war and was granted refugee status after coming to the UK in 2020, was convicted of one count of rape. Abdulsalm, who claimed asylum in the UK in May 2023, with his immigration status still under assessment at the time of the offences, was convicted of two counts of rape.
Judge's comments
Jailing both men, Judge Simon Berkson told the defendants, through a Kurdish interpreter: “It is quite clear you both took advantage of her vulnerable state. She was frankly in no fit state to consent to anything, in and out of consciousness. She was targeted, in my judgment, due to her vulnerability in that nightclub.”
Judge Berkson said that after Adil raped his victim: “You then effectively ushered her into the other room. It appears you effectively invited Abdulsalm to rape her as well, which he did.”
Court proceedings
Earlier, Denise Fitzpatrick, prosecuting, told the court Adil had been visiting the co-defendant at the HMO where he lived in Winsford. At around 12.30am on December 21, they drove their car half a mile to a nightclub in the town and went inside, where they met the victim, who was already drinking and out with her friends.
After speaking with Adil, he bought her more drinks and she got “noticeably” more drunk with eyes glazed, unable to understand conversation and falling over, the court heard. At the end of the night, she left the club, with the defendants leaving shortly after and offering a lift to her and her male friend. But when he got out of the car close to his home, his female friend did not and they drove off with the passenger door still left open. Both men then raped the victim at the HMO.
At around 6.20am the woman rang her mother “extremely upset” saying she did not know what had happened to her. Both defendants were arrested later that day. In a victim impact statement, the woman told the court she no longer feels safe, suffers panic attacks, struggles to sleep and is anxious around strangers.
Defence and police statement
Nicholas Williams, defending Adil, said he had not set out that night with a plan to sexually attack anyone. Mr Williams added: “He came to the UK for a better life. Things are going to be very different for him.”
Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Murray of Cheshire Police, said: “Abdulsalm and Adil targeted a young woman who could not consent due to intoxication. Officers quickly ensured the victim was safeguarded and arrested the pair in connection with the offences. Despite their denials, the jury found them guilty and they have now been jailed for their crimes. Although the victim will never be able to forget what happened, I hope these sentences provide her with some closure, knowing that these men are behind bars and justice has been served. Anyone wishing to report a sexual offence can contact Cheshire Police on 101, or by visiting the Cheshire Police website.”
