A man who flew to Britain from Dubai to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he groomed online was relaxing in a hotel spa and wellness centre when he was arrested by police.
Hamdan Alshamsi, 21, a university student from Abu Dhabi, met the vulnerable schoolgirl on the social media site Snapchat and bombarded her with messages for months.
When she agreed to meet him, he flew to the UK and checked into a four-star seafront hotel in Brighton.
The paedophile then booked an Uber taxi to bring the girl to the hotel where he spent two days sexually assaulting her in his room.
Police who traced the victim to the hotel using her mobile phone, discovered Alshamsi enjoying spa treatments in the wellness centre.
He was sentenced to six years in prison on Tuesday after admitting three charges of engaging in sexual activity with a child.
The girl’s distraught parents said Alshamsi had destroyed their daughter’s innocence and had left her with severe psychological damage for which she requires ongoing counselling.
Her mother said: “He has taken away our little girl. He took away the virginity of a girl who should be learning about sex education at school and not having sex with a grown adult.
“She was honest with him and told him her age. He knew what he was doing, what he was coming over here for.”
Lewes Crown Court heard how Alshamsi first made contact with the Year 9 pupil on Snapchat last year, telling her he was just 16.
Bombarding her with sexually explicit messages, he offered to travel to the UK so they could meet up.
On Christmas Eve last year Alshamsi flew from his home in Abu Dhabi to Britain and on Dec 27 checked into a £250 a night room at the Hilton Brighton Metropole.
He then booked an Uber to collect the girl from her home and drop her off at the hotel, where he spent two days sexually abusing her.
Police launched an urgent hunt for the teenager and using a signal from her mobile phone were able to pinpoint her location to Brighton.
Detectives spent hours scouring the coastline around the city before narrowing the search down to the hotel.
She was eventually located in a hotel corridor where she told police she just wanted to be with her mother.
A subsequent search of Alshamsi’s room found condoms, a whipped cream canister, lubricant and vodka he had purchased.
He was tracked down to the hotel spa, where he was relaxing and enjoying luxury treatments.
Victim on suicide watch
The victim’s family said the girl was so traumatised by what had happened she was now on constant “suicide watch” and was not allowed to go anywhere by herself.
Her mother told Lewes Crown Court: “I am worried she is going to be a volcano and explode in some way. She wants life to be normal but he has taken away our little girl. She has been to a doctor and is on suicide watch.
“He knew what he was doing coming over here. He got her to leave home alone.”
Will Saunders, prosecuting, said Alshamsi had shown clear “grooming behaviour” and planned his trip in detail.
He said the “grooming” and “planning” was all done with sex in mind.
In mitigation Daniel Darnbrough, defending, said Alshamsi had brought shame on his respectable family and his four sisters were “disgusted” by his behaviour.
Sentencing him, Judge Mark van der Zwart, said: “From your home you used social media to groom and lure a 13-year-old girl from the safety of her parents and siblings. She was just a child, you were anything but. This was appallingly predatory behaviour.”
Judge Mark van der Zwart also sentenced him to a sexual harm prevention order and said he would be deported when he is freed.
Speaking after the case Det Insp Sean Booth, from the Safeguarding Investigations Unit, 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.
“I would also like to praise the professionalism of our officers from Brighton Response and our Neighbourhood Policing Team who completed an extended search of the seafront and a meticulous search inside the hotel which ensured the victim was brought safely back to her family, and that Alshamsi was arrested swiftly.
“Thanks to this work, Alshamsi had no choice but to plead guilty to the offences when presented with the evidence from our investigation.”
He said the victim and her family had shown considerable “bravery” throughout the investigation and she had received one-to-one support from specially-trained officers.
He said: “We continue to encourage anyone who has been the victim of child sexual exploitation and sexual offences to come forward and report their experience to us.”
