Brighton dentists’ receptionist sentenced to 11 years for rape

A Brighton dentists’ receptionist who also worked as a delivery driver has been given a prison sentence totalling 11 years and 3 months for raping a stranger in a hospital car park.

Suleman Mukaish, 27, raped a vulnerable woman in her twenties in a car park just moments after she left a hospital earlier this year.

Mukaish did not know the woman when he attacked her in the Lyndhurst Road car park, in Worthing, shortly after 8pm on Wednesday 11 March.

At Hove Crown Court, Judge Christine Henson described Mukaish as dangerous. She jailed him for eight years and three months and ordered him to serve a further three years on licence.

He admitted raping the woman, whose identity is protected by law, and had he not done so, he would have face even more time behind bars.

Mukaish was described in court as a delivery driver while, according to his LinkedIn page, he worked as a receptionist for a dentists’ practice, in Brighton, joining almost two years ago, in September 2024.

The dentists, South Cliff Dental Group, has a surgery in Coombe Road and, until earlier this year, also had a branch in Whitehawk Road.

Chetna Patel, prosecuting, said that Mukaish was arrested two days later at Gatwick airport, with a one-way ticket to his home country, Pakistan.

The court was told that on the evening of the attack, the victim had attended Worthing Hospital “intoxicated, confused and unsteady on her feet” and then left.

Mukaish was cycling home from work when he spotted her. Miss Patel said that Mukaish grabbed her by the arm and took her to the car park opposite the hospital.

She was trying to hold on to the wall to stop him before she was forced on to the bonnet of a car and raped, Miss Patel said.

Mukaish left the victim there – and shortly afterwards she was found by a member of the public and said that she had been raped.

The witness told police: “I could see she was in a bad way.”

A 999 call was made and Sussex Police said that an investigation was started and “witnesses came forward to report vital information”.

The woman managed to identify the car where she was attacked and the force said: “Detectives were able to piece together CCTV footage which showed Mukaish grabbing the victim and taking her to the car park where she was raped.

“They also found a fingerprint and handprint matching Mukaish on a car at the scene of the crime.”

Judge Henson said that the woman “was at her most vulnerable when you, a complete stranger, raped her over the bonnet of a car in the car park adjacent to the hospital that she had just left”.

“The impact psychologically on (her) has been immense.”

The court was told that the woman was fearful of contracting HIV after the attack by a stranger and was no longer able to return to the hospital because of flashbacks of the assault.

Miss Patel told the court that Mukaish came to Britain on a student visa, with graduate leave until 2028, and had no previous convictions.

Mukaish, of Cambridge Road, Worthing, pleaded guilty to the rape at Lewes Crown Court on Monday 13 April, the court was told.

At that hearing, the court was told that he had been studying for a master’s degree in computer science which he had completed.

In mitigation, Mukaish’s barrister Adam Stachniewski told the court that Mukaish had come to the country with good prospects. He was highly educated, hard-working and held several jobs at the same time.

Mukaish had said that he was working in one of his jobs, as a delivery driver, when he saw the woman in trouble and stopped to help her.

But it was clear that he then “takes advantage of a woman in a very vulnerable position”.

Mr Stachniewski said that Mukaish’s account was that she asked him for money and he offered it “essentially on an understanding” that he could do what he wanted – and that led to the offence being committed.

Mr Stachniewski added that Mukaish accepted the woman did not have capacity to consent.

Judge Henson told Mukaish that the offer of money “reinforces your attitude of sexual entitlement”.

The judge said that she considered him to pose a significant risk of committing further serious offences, making him dangerous in law and liable to face an extended sentence.

She said that Mukaish was “clearly a highly intelligent person” with no known mental health or substance misuse issues. Despite this, “you raped a complete stranger.”

After Mukaish was jailed, Detective Superintendent Andrew Harbour said: “I would like to commend the victim for her bravery and courage and for her support of the investigation.

“Also, I would like to thank the many witnesses and members of the public who helped her at the scene and who came forward to report information to the police.

“This information and support from the community was vital to ensure we secured a conviction in this case.

“I would also like to commend the dedication, professionalism and determination of the investigative team whose painstaking work in gathering evidence and following every line of inquiry was instrumental in securing a compelling case to support a vulnerable victim and bring a dangerous offender to justice.

“Despite answering ‘no comment’ during police interviews and making a short statement to deny the offence, when presented with the strength of our evidence, Mukaish chose to plead guilty in court.

“This case shows our determination to catch offenders – and Mukaish is now serving a significant custodial sentence.

“We take reports of rape and sexual offences extremely seriously and tackling incidents of violence against women and girls is a priority for Sussex Police.”