Man jailed for sex offences against teenage girl

A man who had travelled from the United Arab Emirates to the UK to carry out sexual offences against a teenage girl has been jailed.

Hamdan Alshamsi, 21, was in contact with the girl online and booked a hotel in Brighton when he arrived, Sussex Police said.

The court was told how the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had left her home and travelled to the city to meet Alshamsi, who knew her age.

At Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday, Alshamsi was jailed for six years for sex offences.

Alshamsi, of no fixed address, reserved a hotel room on Brighton seafront on 27 December last year, and the girl attended the hotel later that day where he then engaged in sexual activity with her, a police spokesperson said.

Officers searched the seafront for hours to find the victim and eventually found her wandering in the hotel.

Police searched the hotel to look for Alshamsi, who was found in the spa area and arrested.

Inside his room, police said they found condoms and vodka that he had bought.

The victim's family said the sexual offences continued to have a "long-lasting impact on her".

Det Insp Sean Booth said: "This was a distressing case which showed the lengths Alshamsi was prepared to go to engage in sexual activity with a young teenage girl.

"She was vulnerable, and he exploited her trust."

At an earlier hearing Alshamsi admitted to three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with the victim.

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