Snobs accused of abandoning student who was then raped by two men

A judge has blasted the nightclub for kicking out a drunk teenage student who was left out on the streets where she was abducted and raped.

Judge Mary Stacy accused Snobs in Birmingham city centre of “abandoning” the 19-year-old victim to be picked off “like prey” by two sex attackers. She even suggested the nightclub was partly to blame for the rape by saying they had “created the circumstances for the crime to occur.”

The university student was kicked out of the venue by bouncers after she collapsed at the popular nightspot on February 20 last year. A court heard that after being ejected, she became separated from her friends and was lured into a transit van by Zaheer Abbas, 30, and Sajad Hussain, 35.

She was then driven to an industrial estate where she was brutally raped and sexually assaulted in the back of the vehicle by the pair, during an hour long ordeal. On Thursday, Abbas was jailed for 11 years after being convicted or rape, while Hussain was caged for six years after being found guilty of sexual assault.

Snobs

Sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Stacy criticised the management at Snobs – which is one of Britain’s longest-running nightclubs. In a scathing attack on binge drinking Britain, she also blasted the venue’s cheap drinks promotions and accused them of acting “irresponsibly towards their customers.”

She said: “Something needs to be said about Snobs nightclub. We have heard how the establishment carries on serving drinks to students who have had far more than enough to drink.

“Then they fail to take responsibility for the students, they removed (her) after she collapsed inside. Snobs abandoned her on the street where she was prey to the likes of Abbas and Hussain. The security officer is not personally to blame, it was a failure of Snobs itself to fail to put procedures in place, for example by arranging taxis to take them (students) home.

“The disregard for customers allowed for the circumstances for this crime to occur.”

The judge said the case called into question the club’s fitness to hold a licence and referred the venue to licensing chiefs at Birmingham City Council.

She also vowed to contact colleges and universities warning them of Snobs’ cheap drinks promotions targeting “young and vulnerable” students

She added: “This was a deeply distressing case. The distress on the face of the jurors was all too evident and understandable.”

Zaheer Abbas

Abbas was convicted by a jury last December while Hussain was convicted last month. Both trials were shown chilling CCTV of the pair outside the club before the attack. Jurors heard the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was ejected by Snobs’ security staff at around 3.30am.

Abbas and Hussain, along with others, were then seen leading her to Abbas’ transit van.

She was then driven to an industrial estate in the Nechells area of the city where she was raped by Abbas and sexually assaulted by Hussain for over an hour, before they dropped her back at her student accommodation.

The court heard the student, who had been a virgin, had since dropped out of her course at the University of Birmingham.

Judge Stacey told the pair: “What you both did to her had devastating consequences. After achieving her goal of getting into a top university, because of your actions she dropped out. She no longer goes out on her own and feels wary and fearful. She was clearly abducted, she had to be held up and was unable to walk unaided. She was totally incapable.

“Abbas, you took her virginity from her which can never be reclaimed, you took her innocence and ruined her time in Birmingham. Both of you have shown no remorse and have cynically attempted to portray her as a sexual predator when the exact opposite was true.”

Sajad Hussain

Abbas, of Small Heath, Birmingham, and Hussain, of Bordesley Green, Birmingham, denied doing anything wrong but were both convicted by separate juries.

The judge praised their victim who endured two trials, saying: “I pay tribute to her strength and courage coming forward. Her bravery and dignity impressed everyone at court. Her actions resulted in you both being brought to justice.”

Hussain, who was working as a taxi Marshall on the night, still denied doing anything wrong despite damning DNA evidence being found on the victim’s clothing.

Jabeen Akhtar, defending, said: “He doesn’t accept anything that happened. He is remorseful because he feels he should have distanced himself more and should have got out of the van. He realises this incident would have an impact on (the victim) and he is sorry for that. He hopes she can get on with her life and put this behind her.”

The court heard since the incident Hussain had ceased working as a taxi marshall but had found work with Cancer Research UK.