A man has been convicted and sentenced over serious sexual offences against three women at addresses in Brighton.
Abdoulie Jobe, 29, unemployed, of Harmsworth Crescent, Hove, was convicted at Chichester Crown Court last Wednesday (Oct 26) after a seven day trial.
He was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman aged 19 on July 27 last year, of the rape and false imprisonment of a woman aged 17 on August 24, and of the rape of a woman aged 31 on 29 August.
He was convicted of all charges and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
The court heard the circumstances of each of the three offences:
Jobe met his first victim in a night club in the city on the night of 27 July, where he would not leave her alone despite objections from her and her friends. He sexually assaulted her over her clothing before being ejected from the club. CCTV recorded the incident though it was not possible to identify him at the time.
Yet barely a month later, at a flat in the city on the night of 24 August, Jobe met his second victim, and whilst they were briefly alone he raped her.
Then, on the night of August 28 into August 29, he met his third victim with friends whilst drinking outside a club on the seafront. The group went back to a flat where Jobe raped her while escaping the attention of the others.
Detective Constable Beth Griffiths said:
"It was clear that Jobe was systematically preying on women who he met in the city, taking advantage of any momentary vulnerability to exploit them for his own sexual gratification.
"He has been in custody since we tracked him down last November after media appeals, but the city is much safer now that he is off the streets for a long time.
"Our investigation eventually identified Jobe as the suspect for all three attacks. When arrested he gave various long accounts to try explain away what had happened, but the evidence, including that from the three victims at court, was compelling.
"Jobe was a very intimidating character. The victim of his first rape was so frightened that initially she would not give many details. Only when she saw our media appeals trying to track him down for the second rape did she feel able to provide his details."
Victims and witnesses of sexual offences are encouraged to report crimes to Sussex Police, and information about how the force investigates these offences is available online here.
Support and advice for victims of rape and sexual assault is available on the Sussex Police website here.
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