Failed asylum seeker who knocked woman unconscious after she rejected him jailed for six months

A failed asylum seeker who left a young woman in a "crumpled bloody mess" after knocking her unconscious when she rejected him outside a nightclub has been jailed for six months.

Abdoela Berhan, a 35-year-old Eritrean national, punched Cleo Lake, 20, after she told him to "f**k off" when he refused to leave her while on a night out with friends at Dorset nightclub, Cameo.

He was found guilty of assaulting Miss Lake in Bournemouth no more than a week after being convicted of attacking a Subway worker in a separate incident.

When he was arrested, he claimed his address was the Britannia Hotel in Bournemouth - a taxpayer funded asylum accomodation - and claimed he was acting in "self-defence".

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Footage of the vile attack, released by the Crown Prosecution Service, captured the moment the migrant attempted to kick the young woman.

When she looked to fight back, Berhan slammed his fist into his victim's face, leaving her lying motionless on the floor.

Ms Lake believes she was out of it for around five minutes before regaining consciousness, with her attacker seen fleeing the scene before she woke.

The Eritrean national maintained his innocence throughout the trial, despite CCTV footage recording the attack.

Recounting the horror attack, Ms Lake said: "He tried to sit down with us, I got uncomfortable because none of us knew who he was, it was dark and there was no one else around.

"I told him to f**k off and he didn’t like it. We were arguing, swearing at each other, and he got rather close so I shoved him back. He turned around and kicked me, but missed, then I kicked him."

An ambulance ferried Ms Lake to a hospital. However, after waiting to be seen for several hours, she went home and later saw her GP.

Her injuries extend beyond the physical, telling the court she avoided going out in the aftermath of the assault, citing "bad anxiety around men".

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Speaking through a Tigrinyan interpreter at Southampton Magistrates' Court, Berhan claimed Miss Lake had tried to intimidate him.

He said: 'There were three girls, I approached them and asked them to give me a lighter. The one who was standing said "f**k off" and tried to intimidate me. I was defending myself by my elbows. It was not my intention to attack her."

District Judge Orla Austin said she did not believe Berhan, and handed him the maximum sentence possible for assault.

She said: "You made advances to Miss Lake, which were rejected. She was entitled to reject your advances. She was a young woman.

"I'm satisfied a high level of violence was used against her. Though you say you were in some way defending yourself, the footage clearly shows otherwise. You denied all offences and put Miss Lake through a trial.

"In my judgment this is an exceptional case. There was very serious violence against a young woman who had simply rejected your advances."

Judge Austin said that because Berhan was a failed asylum seeker, she would not make any compensation orders as he has no recourse to public funds.

Helen O'Brien, miss Lake's mother, said: "The impact of leaving Cleo in a crumpled bloody mess in that alley has lasted more than six months for us.

"I still cry when I think about that CCTV showing what he did to her and Cleo is still not the happy carefree girl she once was.

"The cheek of him to still deny it when it's there in black and white just goes to show what a disgusting human being he is. He's clearly not remorseful at all.

"I hope his time in prison teaches him a hard lesson. I just wish he would have got more time. He'll probably be out earlier than six months."

Some 11 asylum seekers staying at the Britannia Hotel and the nearby Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth have been convicted of crimes in the past year, including both a stabbing and a rape.

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