Boxer Chris Eubank's son Joseph, 27, ‘dragged girl, 16, along Brighton beach before raping her near pier’
23 September 2024, 16:29 | Updated: 23 September 2024, 18:26
The youngest son of boxer Chris Eubank dragged a drunk teenage girl across Brighton Beach before raping her near the pier, a court has heard.
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Joseph Eubank, 27, aggressively grabbed the girl and forced her over the pebble beach while she was too drunk to stand, Lewes Crown Court heard.
Eubank admits having sex with the teenager but denies forcing her. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape of a woman over 16.
The teenager told police in a recorded interview played to the court on Monday that Eubank helped her up when she fell over several times on the beach. He then sat down next to her before raping her, she said.
"I was very drunk. I couldn't see straight. I couldn't stand up. I kept falling down on the stones, because I couldn't stand up really. I hadn't drunk like that, like ever," she said.
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The young woman - who is entitled to lifelong anonymity under the sexual offences laws - was celebrating a birthday with friends on July 16, 2022, when she was separated from the group.
She explained that she had a brief conversation with Eubank, before adding: "The only thing he asked was how old I was. I told him I was 16. I asked him how old he was and he said 26 and that was the only thing he said to me.
"I think maybe he might have said something else to me when we were at the top of the stairs. He said about going to look at the moon which was prominent. It was orange. Then he led me down the stairs."
Eubank then aggressively grabbed her by the wrist, the jury heard, before forcing her to have oral sex and then penetrative sex.
"I'm pretty sure he kissed me. I was very confused. I didn't even realise I had been dragged down to the beach," she said in the recording.
Prosecutor Beverly Cripps told the court: "There is no dispute that he intentionally penetrated her mouth or vagina. The sexual activity is admitted by Mr Eubank.
"The issue in the case that you are going to have to resolve is consent," she said, arguing that the woman was particularly vulnerable due to her age and drunken condition.
Eubank maintains that the young woman did consent.
Ms Cripps continued: "She said that he had initially been friendly but had become more aggressive as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her up, moving her quickly down the beach on each time she fell."
"On the way she had stumbled more than once, but he pulled her up taking her further down the beach. When she fell for the final time, he sat beside her. She has a recollection that he may have kissed her."
The young woman then recollected being forced to carry out oral sex and then penetrative sex, the prosecutor said.
Ms Cripps added: "She said that he must have flipped her over but she only really realised what had happened when he withdrew from her and walked up the beach."
Eubank - who was arrested following the alleged rape - previously appeared at the court on February 8 when he pleaded not guilty to both charges. He was granted bail with conditions.
The trial continues.
