Jury sworn in trial of three asylum seekers accused of rape on Brighton beach
The trial is due to open on Tuesday
A jury has been sworn in for the trial of three asylum seekers accused of raping a woman on Brighton beach.
Sussex police officers received a report that a woman had been raped on the lower esplanade in Brighton at about 5am on October 4.
Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, an Egyptian living in Horsham, has previously denied four counts of raping the same woman.
Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, an Iranian national living in Crewe, and Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, also Egyptian and living in Horsham, have each denied two counts of raping her.
Al-Danasurt has also pleaded not guilty to sharing three films of the alleged victim “in an intimate state” without her consent on October 14.
The three men sat next to interpreters in the Hove Crown Court dock on Monday as the jury of seven women and five men were sworn in.
Judge Christine Henson KC said the complainant has accepted voluntarily consuming alcohol prior to the alleged rape.
She warned jurors not to “fall into the trap” of thinking someone is “less worthy of belief” if they had drunk alcohol or, in some cases, taken illegal drugs.
The judge added: “It is important not to assume that that means they were looking for, or willing to, have sex.
“People go out, they get drunk, party, they get high – they may do it for no reason at all.”
Wearing revealing clothing also does not mean a person is “inviting or willing to have sex”, she said.
Ms Henson added: “The lived experience of a sexual assault may well not be remembered in a neat, consistent, forensic parcel so you will want to bear that in mind.
“It is well established through the courts that a traumatic event can affect memory and the ability to particularise details and the order of events.”
Jurors were also told that pixelated footage of the incident will be played to them.
The Lewes Crown Court trial sitting in Hove is estimated to last four weeks and is due to open on Tuesday.