A Syrian refugee has been found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in a public toilet on Bournemouth seafront after offering her a lift on his e-bike. Mohammed Abdullah, 19, was convicted of rape and assault by penetration following a trial at which prosecutors said he took advantage of the woman after she had been drinking and became separated from her friend.
The court heard the woman had been out in Bournemouth on the night of 5 to 6 July, first in Charminster and then at Bar So, before walking alone along the seafront. Mark Eldridge, prosecuting, said she had consumed a fair amount of alcohol when she encountered Abdullah, who was with friends and offered her a lift home.
Instead of taking her home, Abdullah led her to a portable toilet where he sexually assaulted and then raped her, the court heard. Prosecutors said the woman tried to fight him off and was left with a burst lip after he kissed her aggressively. Mr Eldridge said she eventually thought it would be quicker to let the attack happen before Abdullah rode off on his e-bike.
The woman later removed her shoes so she could run for help and stopped passers-by to ask to use their phones to call her mother. She told her mother she had been raped before contacting police. One man who assisted her described her as appearing distressed.
Judge Robert Pawson told Abdullah he had deliberately taken the woman further up the beach to the toilets, which he knew were open, and said he had “decided to take advantage” of her. He warned the defendant he faces imprisonment when he returns for sentencing on 3 July, and remanded him into custody.
Abdullah arrived in the UK from Syria in 2023 and was granted permanent leave to remain under a family reunion scheme. He had claimed the sex was consensual and that the woman had wanted to hug and kiss him, but the jury rejected that account.