Brighton Beach Rape: Three Illegal Immigrants Convicted

All three defendants had been residing at Cisswood House Hotel in Horsham, West Sussex. The hotel is Home Office-approved accommodation provided for asylum seekers. Alshafe and Ahmadi had arrived in the United Kingdom by small boat on 19 June 2025, three months before the offences. Al-Danasurt had entered the country on 11 October 2024.

The jury heard detailed accounts from each man about how they came to be in the United Kingdom. Al-Danasurt told authorities he was born in Egypt on 22 June 2005 and attended school there until the age of 11. He said he left Egypt in June 2022 but did not reach the United Kingdom until October 2024. After a short time in a detention centre he was transferred to Cisswood House Hotel in Horsham where he shared Room 5 with Alshafe.

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Alshafe was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and lived there with his two sisters. His older brother had already claimed asylum in Italy. Alshafe attended school until the age of 14 before serving three years in the Egyptian army. He told authorities he left Egypt after leaving the army because of severe financial difficulties. Alshafe claimed that while travelling through Libya he and his group were kidnapped by an unknown militia and held in a camp until a ransom was paid by their families. He said he reached Italy in May 2025 before crossing the English Channel by small boat.

Ahmadi was born in Iran into a Kurdish community and told authorities he received no formal education. He worked as a labourer and farm hand after his father died when he was 13. Ahmadi said his mother suffered from kidney problems and he himself had broken his shoulder, limiting his ability to work. He claimed he left Iran after being discovered by security police while volunteering for the Democratic Party for Iranian Kurdistan, a banned separatist group. Ahmadi told authorities he feared he would be arrested and killed if he remained in Iran. He escaped with help from his uncle and made his way to France before crossing the Channel. Alshafe and Ahmadi first met on the small boat crossing.

During the trial Al-Danasurt told the jury that rape to him meant sex when questioned about the issue of consent. Alshafe claimed in evidence that he was a virgin who had been looking for a British bride. All three men denied the charges throughout the proceedings. Alshafe and Ahmadi each denied two counts of rape. Al-Danasurt denied all four counts of rape, maintaining he had acted only as a secondary party by filming events at the scene.

A separate count of sharing intimate films faced by Al-Danasurt was withdrawn by the prosecution after it was established the offence could only be tried in a magistrates’ court. The defendants sought to blame each other for the offences during the trial. The jury concluded that all three had been on the prowl for women that evening and had acted together in the attack.

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All three men are currently appealing against the refusal of their asylum applications. They will be sentenced at Hove Crown Court on 15 July.

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the convictions followed a full trial in which the victim gave evidence about the events of that night. The case involved the presentation of mobile phone footage recovered from the defendants as central evidence. Convictions of this nature for gang rape offences highlight the serious approach taken by the courts to crimes involving multiple perpetrators targeting vulnerable individuals.