Man Jailed For Sex Attacks On Women In Brighton

Monday, 20 December 2021 07:07

A man who befriended two young women in chance encounters at separate locations in Brighton - before committing sexual offences - has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Sarjo Jatta, 44, a doorman, of Eldred Avenue, Brighton, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Friday (17).

The first 20 years will be spent in custody and the other four on extended licence.

In September he was convicted of the rape sexual assault, and false imprisonment of a 22-year-old woman on February 8, 2020 and the rape of an 18-year-old woman who he had met in a club in Brighton on September 13, 2015.

Jatta was found not guilty of four counts of sexual assault on a woman aged 19 during December 2011, and the rape of a woman aged 18, on August 18, 2017.

He will be a registered sex offender for life.

Jatta was charged in March 2020 after the 22-year old victim reported that he had offered her a lift home as she was walking past the city centre casino where he was working as a doorman, but that when he took her to his car he would not let her out until he had raped and sexually assaulted her.

After he was arrested police found records that showed he'd been arrested four-and-a-half years earlier on suspicion of raping the 18-year-old, but the CPS had not authorised his prosecution at that time.

Jatta's prosecution for both attacks followed an investigation by detectives from the Brighton Safeguarding Investigations Unit, who were able to show the common factors between the offences, and the CPS authorised all the cases to proceed to court.

Detective Constable Stewart Cameron said:

"Jatta was clearly a predatory offender against young women, taking opportunities to victimise them when they were in vulnerable situations."

In sentencing Jatta, Judge Christine Lang said he had a dark side to his character and targeted vulnerable women, showing no remorse or understanding of the seriousness of the offences.

For information on how to report sexual offences and the services available see the Sussex Police website.

See here for advice on keeping yourself and others safe when out and about.