Man accused of raping two young women by preying on them while they were drunk

Brighton Magistrates’ Court

Mohammed Joinal, 29, is charged with two counts of rape, one in October 2017 and another in January 2018, both of which he denies.

In both cases, the victims had been drinking and were alone after an argument with their partners, and both told police they awoke to find Joinal on top of them.

Police scientists were able to find DNA on both victims’ clothes – but it was only in May this year that a match to Joinal’s DNA was found after he was arrested for an unrelated offence.

Prosecuting at Brighton Crown Court yesterday, Hugh French said the first victim had been on a night out at Concorde 2 when she had a row with her boyfriend, who had walked off.

She said: “The victim found herself alone, upset and crying, having drunk alcohol in the club.

“The victim doesn’t have perfect recall of the night but she does remember being on a bench and a man coming up to her, sitting next to her and engaging her in conversation, speaking to her and trying to chat her up, complimenting her and her looks.

“The victim then remembers being on the beach on her back with the man on top of her having sex. She was crying and she told him to stop. Perhaps a very clear sign of a lack of consent.

“Her phone was ringing repeatedly while she was there and she was told not to answer it.

“Meanwhile her boyfriend had been trying to find her, had been ringing her phone and even phone his own parents to try and get them to help. They drove down to Brighton to help look for her.

“Eventually a phonecall did connect – after she had been raped – and her boyfriend along with his mum and dad picked her up in order to drive her home.”

Mr French said the second victim had also been on a night out on 8 January with her ex partner, who she still shared a flat with.

The pair had also had a row, and she had gone on to a different pub, the Barley Mow, on her own where she carried on drinking until the end of the evening.

He said: “The bar staff were sufficiently concerned about her intoxication that they looked for her outside the pub to see how she was and when they went outside they noticed she was being escorted away by a man.

“They went to check on her and found her nearby curled up on a bench with this man sat at her feet. He said he was checking she was okay. She told the bar staff to f*** off and so they left it.

“The victim has little memory of what happens next. She does remember leaving the pub but then nothing until she remembers being in a grotty flat or bedsit with a man on top of her without her having given her consent. You may not think given how drunk she was that she was able to give consent.

“She remembers leaving the flat half naked and made it back in the early hours of the morning to the flat she was sharing with her ex partner at 4am.”

Mr French said that Joinal, who is currently living in Grand Parade, Brighton, was arrested in May, after his DNA was uploaded to the police DNA database following an arrest over unconnected matters, and a match to these two incidents was made.

Mr French said: “He said he remembered meeting the first victim, they had met and chatted and he had formed the impression that she was not under the influence of alcohol, that she had initiated sex and led him to the beach. Afterwards, he remembered seeing her get into the car and leave.

“He had met the second victim that evening, she was drunk and he had taken her home. They had slept for a while and woken up and he formed the view that she was not drunk and consensual sex had happened between them.”

The trial, which is expected to last for up to two weeks, continues.