A man who groped a young woman after following her into the ladies’ loos in a Brighton nightclub has been ordered to pay her compensation.
Denis Maftei, 38, and another man followed the 22-year-old and her friend into the toilets at Pryzm at 1.45am on 10 July last year.
He then pulled her against him, kissed her on the lips and cheeks and squeezed her bottom.
Defending him today at Brighton Magistrates Court, Josie Sonnessa said his actions were the result of a “huge misunderstanding” and he was genuinely remorseful.
The court also heard a statement from the victim, in which she said his actions had made her anxious to go out, and had stolen the best days of her lives from her.
Prosecuting, Maria Goptareva said: “Throughout this, the victim continuously asked him to stop. Her friend asked the other man with the defendant to stop him from doing this.
“The victim managed to get away from the defendant and went into a cubicle with her friend.”
Nightclub staff then saw the men in the toilets and asked them to leave. The police attended, and a swab they took of the woman’s cheek, when later analysed, showed traces of the defendant’s DNA.
She read out the victim’s statement, which said: “Since the attack happened back in 2022 it has had a profound effect on my anxiety and self wroth as an individual.
“Going out with my friends should be a fun enjoyable time. This man has taken that away from me.
“This world is already hard enough as it is. For anyone to cause you to feel so unsafe when you are out with your friends is very upsetting.
“There isn’t a day which goes by when I don’t think about the incident. Even in everyday situations I’m more nervous and conscious of who is near me.
“I’m very close to my dad but my trust in men has now gone. I feel vulnerable as a female and that men think they can treat women as objects which should not be the case.
“In any situation when attention is unwanted, no means no and women should not feel frightened to stand up for themselves.
“This incident will be carried with me throughout my life and is life changing.
“I now struggle to talk to men whether at work or socially and it will clearly have an enormous impact on me in building relationships in the future.
“It’s horrible not feeling safe in public places and at my age they should be the best time of my life when I’m forming friendships and having fun.
“This has been stolen away from me.”
Ms Sonnessa said: “He is ashamed of his behaviour. He wishes to apologise and he accepts that he was wrong. He says he was under a huge misunderstanding but he has learned a big lesson and would never act the same way again.
When he refers to a huge misunderstanding, this means his interpretation of what was going on during what he perceived as an interaction with the woman – but he knows he was wrong.”
Chair of the bench Joanna Brown said: “This was an unpleasant case. We have heard from the victim about the very devastating impact it has had on her.
“We have noted that probation assesses you at a low risk of reoffending and we accept that you are genuinely remorseful.”
Maftei was fined £673, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £269, costs of £85 and compensation of £250 to the victim, the last of which was ordered to be a priority.
He agreed to pay £250 a month, with the first payment due by 30 June.
When he refers to a huge misunderstanding, this means his interpretation of what was going on during what he perceived as an interaction with the woman – but he knows he was wrong.”
So he misunderstood the word “no”? Did he misinterpret this as meaning “yes”?