Girl, 15, raped by man she met at seaside funfair who bought her vodka before locking her in flat & pushing her onto bed
A SEASIDE sexual predator took advantage of a 15-year-old girl and raped her at his flat after meeting at a funfair.
Mehmed Mehmed, 41, bought the teen vodka and lured her to his shared-house home where he locked her in his bedroom in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.
The unsuspecting girl had been drinking earlier in the day and had been to the beach, Hull Crown Court heard.
Mehmed denied raping the girl on August 18, 2020 but he was convicted by a jury after a retrial.
A previous jury was discharged on May 5 last year after it was unable to reach a verdict.
Mehmed was convicted by another jury on January 8 this year after a second trial.
Richard Davies, prosecuting, said that the 15-year-old girl spent the day in Bridlington and went to the beach and the harbour area.
She went to the funfair with friends in the evening.
She was drinking while at the fair and she and other girls met a group of men, including Mehmed. More drinks were bought for the girl and her friends by Mehmed and his group.
The girl was the equivalent for alcohol of five or six times over the drink-driving limit.
They ended up at Mehmed’s home, where he began to kiss her and he “steered her” into a bedroom while supposedly showing her where the bathroom was.
“Once inside, he locked the door behind them,” said Mr Davies. Mehmed pushed the girl onto the bed and raped her, despite her trying to push him away and telling him that she did not want to have sex with him.
There was some knocking on the door and the girl seized the opportunity to escape.
The police found her outside. “She told them repeatedly that she had not wanted to have sex,” said Mr Davies.
Mehmed was arrested and he accepted that he met the girl and her friend. He claimed that they asked him for money to buy vodka so he bought vodka for them.
He claimed that he thought that she was 17 and that they had sex with her consent.
The girl later said that, after the incident, she “felt disgusting and dirty” and had “a lot of self-loathing”.
She suffered from nightmares and paranoia. “I suffered from flashbacks and could see his face imprinted in my head,” she said.
“It has affected my daily life. Going into town, I would avoid any areas where I thought he might see me.
He has walked towards me on the Promenade in the past. I felt I could not just go out with my friends in case I bumped into him.
“I take medication for my anxiety. I have felt mentally traumatised since the incident. My relationships have been affected. I am not trusting of men.
“I am grateful to the criminal justice system for securing the perpetrator’s conviction.”
Tayo Dasaolu, mitigating, said that Mehmed had no previous convictions in this country or his native Bulgaria and he acted, during the rape, out of character.
There were references for him as a friend and a dedicated work colleague. He was hardworking and he had an exemplary work ethic.
He was married and had two children in Bulgaria.
Mehmed was jailed for eight years. He was given an indefinite restraining order and he must register as a sex offender for life.