A drug dealer plied four women with sedatives and raped them in hotel rooms and Airbnbs in Brighton and Hove, sometimes filming what he was doing, a court was told.
Shane Gibbs, 35, is also accused of sexually assaulting two others during a spree of offences last November and December.
Gibbs faces trial on 19 charges – 16 of them counts of rape or other sexual attacks – as well as strangling a woman, assault and false imprisonment. He denies all the charges.
Jennifer Knight, prosecuting, told the jury at Hove Crown Court: “Over the course of several months in the autumn and winter of 2023, Shane Gibbs preyed upon teenagers and vulnerable women in the Brighton and Hove area.
“He was, during those months, supplying drugs in the city and living a seemingly nomadic life, moving between hotel rooms and various Airbnb properties on and around the seafront.
“Through his supply of drugs and those he associated with, Shane Gibbs met the young women who are complainants in this case.
“Most of these complainants were addicted to drugs – and all were vulnerable by virtue of these addictions or, in the case of two of them, both 15 years old, because of their youth.
“Shane Gibbs encouraged these women to spend time with him, taking them to locations they often considered to be luxurious and supplying them with generous quantities of a wide variety of drugs and alcohol.
“In this way, and by his use of the sedative drug GHB, he ensured that they became high on drugs to the point of passing out or so sedated as to be incapable of rational thought or action.
“He then raped and sexually assaulted six of the seven complainants, often when they were asleep or in a state where they were incapable of exercising any choice or of stopping him.”
The jury was told that he met women in the Leonardo hotel, by Brighton railway station, the Hilton Metropole and the Queen’s hotel, both on the seafront and the Malmaison, at Brighton Marina.
Gibbs, also known as Blue, stayed in Airbnbs above Five Guys, at the Marina, and on Hove seafront, including in Grand Avenue.
Miss Knight said: “These events came to the attention of the police through several different reports.”
The parents of two schoolgirls reported their daughters missing just before Christmas last year – including one of the mothers who shared an icloud account with her daughter.
The shared icloud account showed pictures of the Marina, of a man and of drugs – and a photo showing one of the girls “bent over in a sexual position with the man behind her”.
The girls came home on Christmas Eve but went missing again three days later.
One of the mothers took to social media and shared a picture of the man photographed before Christmas. Miss Knight said: “She was given the name Shane Gibbs.”
Another complainant “had been receiving help and support from an organisation called the Oasis Project who provide support to women in Brighton and Hove with drug or alcohol problems”, Miss Knight said.
She said: “It was very clear to her care co-ordinator that she was in a terrible state.
“She told her support worker about (an) incident at the Hilton. And the Oasis Project team, who were very concerned about her, contacted the police.
“A police officer met with her later that day and she disclosed what had happened to her and (another woman).”
On another occasion, the jury was told, Gibbs was staying in an apartment at the Queen’s Hotel, in Brighton. He became angry with a woman who was there with her dog.
Miss Knight said: “Shane Gibbs … seized (the woman) by the shoulders and pushed her across the room and into the wall.
“She ended up on the floor where Shane Gibbs punched her and then, as she tried to get up, kicked her in the ribs.
“As she struggled to escape and to get hold of her dog, Shane Gibbs pushed (the woman) back to the ground and began to strangle her.
“He pushed her down on the ground as he did so and (the woman) had to gasp for air as she tried to pull his hands from her throat.
“Just as (she) began to think that she might die, Shane Gibbs released his grip. (She) immediately attempted to stand again but Shane Gibbs kicked her a second time, this time connecting with her head.
“(She) fell to the ground again and Shane Gibbs knelt on her side. Throughout the assault, he was shouting at her, calling her a fucking whore and accusing her of sleeping with his friend.
“Once again (she) managed to scramble to her feet and Shane Gibbs, who had got hold of the dog’s lead, hit her with it. The metal part of the lead caught her shoulder and cut her.
“During the attack on her, (the woman’s) dog had got hold of her foot in its mouth in an attempt to drag her away and out of danger.
“But as the struggle continued, one of its teeth penetrated (the woman’s) foot, causing her immense pain.
“Through continued blows from Shane Gibbs, (the woman) managed to get up, grab her dog and some of her belongings and leave the apartment.”
Miss Knight told the jury that the woman’s foot later became infected.
Gibbs was arrested on Thursday 4 January at a Travelodge in Portsmouth.
Miss Knight added: “Police found Shane Gibbs surrounded by cash and a large amount of drugs.
“When the drugs seized from the room were later analysed, there were found to be quantities of cocaine, MDMA, methylamphetamine, ketamine, GBL and cannabis.”
The trial continues.
