Six men charged with conspiring to prostitute 16-year-old Brighton girl
Six men have been charged with conspiring to prostitute a 16-year-old girl from Brighton.
The men are due to appear in court accused of committing serious sexual offences after a 12-month investigation.
The girl is said to have been staying at a flat in Newhaven when the alleged offences took place.
The case was described by Sussex Police as the first child sex abuse conspiracy prosecution in Sussex.
The force said that the six men are
- Christopher Kayla-Joseph, 26, of Elphick Road, Newhaven
- Mohammed Kamali, 45, of Harper Road, Newhaven
- Khosrow Sobhanieh, 55, of North Lane, Guestling, near Hastings
- Stephen Daramola, 47, of Park Lane, Eastbourne
- Khalid Del-Rosario, 44, of Upperton Road, Eastbourne
- Guiseppe Carella, 18, of Brighton Road, Newhaven
All six are due to appear on bail at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 5 June charged conspiring to arrange the prostitution of a child.
Kayla-Joseph is also charged with two offences of supplying cocaine, one together with the boy and one with Kamali, Daramola, and Del-Rosario.
Carella is also charged with rape.
Sobhanieh is also charged with two offences of rape.
Daramola is also charged with sexual assault.
Sussex Police said: “The charges, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, follow a 12-month investigation, Operation Firehill, by East Sussex detectives into information that the girl, from Brighton, had allegedly been subjected to the offences while staying at a flat in Newhaven in May last year.
“This is the first prosecution in Sussex for alleged child sexual exploitation by a group.”
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Ling said: “Although this case is now before the courts, we can say that all reports of this type will be taken seriously and investigated wherever possible.”
He said that anyone with information about such offending could contact Sussex Police by phoning 101 at any time or by emailing 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk.
He added that it would be possible to arrange to speak in confidence to detectives and to have access to a range of other support.
