Man jailed after carrying drunk Newcastle student to alley and raping her

A man has been jailed after he carried a drunk student to an alleyway and raped her.

The teenage victim had been on a night out in Newcastle City Centre and was walking home in a "highly intoxicated" state when she was spotted by Marwen Darwish.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 23-year-old carried the woman, a university student, to a nearby alleyway and raped her.

He then stole her mobile phone, which he went on to sell in Manchester, and left the victim lying in the street.

When he was arrested but initially denied any wrongdoing until he was shown CCTV of the attack.

Darwish, of Parish Court, in Byker, has now been sent to prison for up for eight years after he pleaded guilty to rape on the day his trial was due to start.

He also admitted theft of the mobile phone and possession of a class C drug.

Outlining the facts of the case, Recorder Tony Hawks said: "She was in a highly vulnerable and distressed state.

"Any decent human being would, seeing her in that condition, have gone to her assistance or called the emergency services. You did neither.

"What you did do, in effect, was carry her to a secluded alleyway, taking advantage of her condition, and rape her."

The judge added: "Having done that, you added insult to injury by stealing her mobile phone. You then sold it in Manchester. You raped her and stole from her, you walked away from her with utter contempt for her wellbeing or safety.

"It's inevitable that any contact of this sort will have a lasting effect on the victim, regardless of whether they can remember what happened or not."

The court was told that Darwish was living in Byker illegally at the time, having moved to the North East from Algeria in October last year.

Penny Hall, defending, said Darwish claimed not to have fully known the laws the UK, especially in relation to consent.

However, Recorder Hawks dismissed his claims, adding: "I do not accept there was cultural confusion in this case. It must have been obvious to any human being, no matter where they come from, that this was a serious crime."

Ms Hall said Darwish had pleaded guilty, albeit on the day of trial, which saved the victim from giving evidence. She also told the court that Darwish had no past convictions and will be deported upon his release from prison.

After the case, Claire Wright, a prosecutor at CPS North East, said: “Marwen Darwish claimed in his first interview with police that he had only met a woman in a bar that evening before leaving by himself. Unbeknown to him, his movements had been captured on various CCTV cameras around the city.

"As well as showing him targeting the woman, who was barely capable of walking at the time, it also showed him leading her to a secluded spot in the New Bridge Street area and committing the offences before fleeing the scene.

"On being presented with the CCTV, Darwesh then claimed that he had carried out these acts with full consent from the woman involved.

"However, it is very clear from the evidence that his victim was so heavily intoxicated that she lacked the capacity to give informed consent. Darwen’s actions following the attack also suggested that he was aware that he had forced himself upon his victim against her will.

“The Crown Prosecution Service has worked very closely with Northumbria Police to build a robust case against Marwen Darwish, which has led to him pleading guilty to multiple charges against him.

"The impact of his actions on his victim have been significant and we sincerely hope that she can find some measure of comfort in seeing her attacker sentenced today.”

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