🔴 SUDANESE IMMIGRANT ‘TOLD STUDENT I LOVE YOU’ DURING RAPE
A student was allegedly dragged from a Bournemouth nightclub and raped by a man who told her “I love you” as she cried, a jury has been told
Jurors at Bournemouth Crown Court heard that the complainant, who was 18 at the time, had been pulled out of the Cameo nightclub by Samir Muhammad, then 17, before being taken to his flat where he is accused of raping her twice
Prosecutor Louise McCullough told the court that the student, who had consumed just one drink inside the club, described feeling “really drunk” and “out of it” soon after arriving. She said Muhammad appeared determined to isolate her, taking her hand and pulling her towards the exit before she had a chance to rejoin her friends
The court was told the defendant led her to his accommodation in Sandringham House, where he forced her to undress and pushed her onto the bed despite her repeated protests. Ms McCullough said: “She said ‘no, I don’t want to’ but he ignored this and simply told her to relax. He was going to get what he wanted regardless”
Jurors heard that Muhammad allegedly grabbed the complainant by the wrists, pinned her down, and subjected her to two rapes, ignoring her pleas for him to stop. He is said to have slapped her, causing her to bleed, while telling her “relax baby, I love you” and “I want you to meet my family”
The complainant’s police interview was played to the jury. She recalled that she and her friends had “pre-drank” before the night out, but insisted she was still aware of what was happening when Muhammad first approached her. “I remember this boy dancing behind me, and at first I thought he was harmless. I lost my friends for a while … then by the time he asked me to come back to his flat, I felt really drunk”
She told officers that inside the flat Muhammad forced her to strip, held her wrists down and raped her. “It was so awful and painful, I was flinching at the slaps and bleeding … I couldn’t believe this stranger was telling me he loved me while forcing himself on me. I was crying and telling him he was hurting me”
The jury heard that throughout the alleged assault Muhammad intermittently answered phone calls, speaking in a different language, while continuing to restrain the complainant. She said this left her terrified, uncertain who he was speaking to and fearing further violence if she resisted.
The student said Muhammad blocked her from answering calls from concerned friends and initially tried to prevent her from charging her phone. He allegedly told her to tell her friends she was with her boyfriend. She nevertheless managed to send her location through Snapchat, which allowed her friends to trace the flat. They later flagged down a passing police car after she was released in the early hours of 5 December 2021
The prosecution said the complainant’s account is consistent with her being incapacitated and overpowered, describing her as “evidently drunk” and vulnerable, which the defendant “took advantage of”
The jury heard that Muhammad, whose immigration status remains unclear, had stored his number in the complainant’s phone, which enabled police to trace him quickly. He was arrested and charged with two counts of rape
Now aged 21, Muhammad denies both counts. He maintains that the sex was consensual and disputes the allegations of force and coercion
Giving evidence in his own defence, Muhammad told jurors that the complainant had willingly accompanied him to the flat after they met inside Cameo nightclub in the early hours of 5 December 2021. He said she had asked to return with him in order to charge her phone and insisted there was no coercion or force involved
He claimed that once inside the property she initiated sexual contact and that the encounter was consensual. “She took her clothes off, she was hugging me. I’m happy, she was happy as well. I didn’t force her,” he told the court. Muhammad said they had sex twice and that before she left, she kissed his hand. “I said stay until the morning. I just wanted her to be safe. She gave my hand a kiss and said see you later”
Jurors heard that Muhammad subsequently sent a message to the woman on Snapchat asking whether she had met her friends. He said he had stored his number in her phone because “we were happy together and to meet her again”. The court was told that although she later saw the message, she did not respond
Muhammad, who said his first language is Zaghawa, explained that he had arrived in the United Kingdom in early 2021 aged 16 or 17, having fled conflict in Sudan. His current immigration status has not been disclosed. He denies two counts of rape and maintains that the sexual activity was entirely consensual.
The trial continues.
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