A Brighton man has been jailed for carrying out a sex attack on a stranger in Pavilion Gardens.
Andrew Ford, 23, of Bramble Way, Stanmer Heights, Hollingbury, targeted a woman who was so drunk that she could barely walk.
Jennifer Gray, prosecuting, said that he used a choke hold to drag his victim into bushes, rendering her unconscious before trying to rape her.
She played security camera footage to the court showing how quickly Ford grabbed his victim just yards from staff putting tables out in front of a bar.
The footage also showed Ford dragging his unconscious victim and tipping her over a hedge into undergrowth where he carried out the attack.
Ford, a labourer who used to work in Pryzm night club, then carried out what Judge David Rennie described as a “forensic sweep” of the area afterwards.
At Hove Crown Court, Judge Rennie said that Ford was violent and dangerous as he jailed him for 20 years with five years on extended licence.
Ford pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and attempted rape in Pavilion Gardens early on Saturday 8 June last year.
He was caught after pictures recorded by security cameras at and near the scene were published in the local media. Two former girlfriends were among those who contacted Sussex Police.
At a week-long trial last month Ford was found guilty on a separate charge of raping a woman in Brighton and a charge of coercive and controlling behaviour.
The woman who was attacked in the Pavilion Gardens was unable to travel from her home in France to read her victim personal statement to the court because of coronavirus-related restrictions so Miss Gray read it to the court.
She said: “Still now, I have a flashback – a feeling of someone behind me running. Some nights I have a bad dream. I can’t breathe during the flashback.
“That flashback was as I was running along the seafront. I kept looking behind me. It made me feel paranoid. There was nobody. Just me.
“I was angry, crying, sad … everything. I had anxiety at that moment. I just wanted to go home.
“Bad dreams happened a lot. More or less the same dream … shadows, running. I would wake up and I would feel bad when I woke … couldn’t get back to sleep.
“I had a couple of weeks of not being able to sleep. The medication I took for my sexual health just made me feel very unwell.
Worried
“The whole thing has affected me and my life, my family, friends and work. It’s made my friends very worried about me. They text me get news or to see me more.
“They worry as I don’t seem to be affected by it but they don’t know about the bad dreams. I only tell them when I’m drunk.
“Because my friends worry about me, I think maybe I should speak to someone about this as it has affected me.
“Everybody except my mother knows. She can’t know as she’ll worry about me more.
“Today my brain is empty. I try not to think about it but my solution is to drink more to forget but it doesn’t work. It brings it back.
“I know it’s stupid as it happened because I was drinking too much. But I have drunk before to try to forget.
“This has changed me. Relationships with guys have changed. I used to have fun with boys. Now I’m less open – both physically and mentally. If a guy flirts with me, I just speak to him. That’s it.
Crazy
“Seeing the footage, I see that drinking is bad. I was emotionless. I was like an object that he takes, he uses and just puts in the bin. That’s how I see myself on the footage.
“Seeing what he did was crazy. He just thought about it, went to me, which is crazy, like an animal.
“He thought about it before doing it, as I had gone past him. He looked like he was so sure he was going to do it, no matter what.
“I am ok but I have changed. He changed my life. I see in the future that me and relationships have changed.
“I am running now to get stronger – some exercise – so if it’s going to happen again, I can fight.”
Degrading
Judge Rennie said that Ford had forced one of his victims “to give evidence as you struggled to avoid responsibility for what you did to her”.
He criticised Ford’s “appalling and degrading treatment” of one victim and his “brutal abuse” of the other, adding that “a very clear picture emerges”.
He said: “You have very clearly demonstrated in your mistreatment of these two women a pattern of violent behaviour, including rape and attempted rape, as well as coercion and control.”
Judge Rennie said that he agreed with an experienced probation officer that Ford posed “a high risk of serious harm to the public”.
The judge said: “This may involve the use of force, such as a choke hold used on both victims, to secure compliance, thereby creating a high risk of death or serious injury.”
He said that Ford used one victim’s money “to fund your own lazy and parasitic lifestyle”, adding: “You slapped, kicked and punched her. You got her arrested by making a false allegation.
“You raped her on the very day she had been through the trauma of a termination.
Vile
“To you she was just an object with which you could satisfy your twisted desires … What a vile thing to do.”
To have put his victim through the ordeal of a trial, Judge Rennie said, “tells me a great deal about what sort of human being you are.”
He said: “It is clear to me that she is trying to remain as resilient as possible and, with the help and support of ongoing counselling, hopes to regain equilibrium so that her life is not defined as a rape victim.”
When Ford carried out the attack in the Pavilion Gardens he was “preoccupied with sex, looking for sex and determined to have sex by whatever means it took”.
Judge Rennie said: “Your purchase of pornographic material and your repeated efforts to contact escort agencies make that perfectly clear.
Vulnerable
“When you saw her – alone and in her vulnerable state – you pounced.
“You used your by now familiar choke hold to lift her off the ground and drag her like a piece of meat into the bushes, unconscious or semi-conscious because she couldn’t breathe properly.
“Your attack was swift and silent. She had no chance at all to defend herself or call for help.
“Not only did you falsely imprison her, in itself a terrifying ordeal, but you then attempted to rape her.”
Brutal
The woman suffered intimate injuries, the court was told, and the judge added: “The CCTV shows how brutal and how sickening your treatment of a fellow human being was.
“She suggested that this happened to her because she had drunk too much. I would like her to know that she did nothing wrong that night.
“What happened to her was in no way her fault. It is all your fault, Andrew Ford.
“I hope that she too finds peace of mind and equilibrium in due course so that her life is also not defined by this one shocking event in Brighton.
Courageous
“These are two very courageous and impressive young women.”
Judge Rennie said that Ford had not only used violence over and above what was inherent for the act of rape but “there was additional degradation and humiliation”.
He said: “Because I find that you are dangerous … I propose to pass an extended sentence for public protection.”
He sentenced Ford to 16 years for rape with two and a half years on extended licence after his release from prison.
Ford was jailed for an extra four years for attempted rape, with another two and a half years on extended licence, making 20 years in total and five years on extended licence.
Violent
Detective Sergeant Sophie Tullett, of the Sussex Police Safeguarding Investigations Team, said: “Andrew Ford is a dangerous individual who expressed violent and predatory instincts against two vulnerable women and I’d like to commend them for their courage in helping to support this prosecution.
“In the first reported instance, Ford was seen to walk past a woman unknown to him in the Royal Pavilion Gardens.
“He then turned around and ran towards the victim and violently dragged her into a fenced area of overgrowth where he subjected her to a serious sexual assault.
“A short time later, he ran away from the scene and visited Good News newsagents, in Castle Square, where he purchased adult magazines.
“He later revisited the scene in an attempt to clear his tracks. We also know that Ford visited Platinum Lace strip club in the city prior to the incident and this information helped us to paint a picture of his behaviour and his intentions.
“Our appeal prompted a report from a second victim, who gave evidence of coercive and controlling behaviour by Ford. She also reported being raped by him at her home after she had an abortion.
“In both cases, Ford used a distinctive choke hold to gain control and power over his victims.
Justice
“On arrest it was evident Ford had shaved his head in an attempt to alter his appearance and did his best to evade capture.
“However, thanks to the local community and social media users, we were quickly able to identify him and it was only a matter of time before he was arrested.
“This was a thorough investigation involving extensive inquiries, including obtaining CCTV from various premises, and I’d like to thank everyone involved who helped us to bring this violent offender to justice.
“I’d specifically like to thank the security team at Royal Pavilion Gardens for their co-operation throughout this investigation.
“I’d also like to reassure anyone who has been a victim of a sexual or domestic assault that we are here to help. No one should have to suffer in silence.
“If you wish to report an incident, you can contact your local officer, visit your local station or report it online or by calling 101. You can also report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or online.”
