EX-ASDA WORKER DANIEL ARBER JAILED AFTER SEXUALLY ASSAULTING A WOMAN DURING A NIGHT OUT IN FOLKESTONE
A former Asda worker Daniel Arber, of Morehall Avenue in Cheriton, was charged with six counts of rape, one of sexual assault, and one of assault by penetration against a woman in her 20s.After a five-day trial at Canterbury Crown Court, the jury found the 37-year-old not guilty of the six counts of rape and one of sexual assault, but convicted of assault by penetration.
He was sentenced to five years in prison.
The court heard how on October 29, 2016, Mr Arber was out drinking in Folkestone and met the woman at the Office Bar on The Leas.
They knew of each other and stayed together throughout the evening.
During that time, they engaged in sexual activity on three occasions—near the Leas Lift, in a bin area of the Grand Burstin Hotel car park, and near the Folkestone and Hythe District Council building in Castle Hill Avenue.
The final encounter was deemed by the jury to be an assault.
Prosecutor Dominic Connolly argued that the woman was too drunk to consent, but Mr Arber denied this, with his defense attorney Jason Dunn-Shaw stating his acts were “not those of a criminal.” The court noted that both were tested for blood alcohol levels—Mr Arber's was approximately 153mg per 100ml, nearly twice the legal limit, and the woman's was 218mg.
A taxi driver, Jovan Maillard, had also seen a couple on the pavement near Castle Hill Avenue around 2:30am and thought something was amiss, but the couple no longer appeared when he returned.
Judge Catherine Brown commended the taxi driver for his conduct and stated that Mr Arber took advantage of a vulnerable victim who was not in a state to agree to sexual activity, emphasizing that “It was clear that she was wholly incapable of giving consent to that act.”
