Drunken woman assaulted by ‘predators circling prey’
Two "predators" were caught on chilling CCTV footage as they circled and sexually assaulted a drunk lone woman.
Elvis Pietri and Iraklis Poimenidis targeted their "extremely intoxicated" victim for sexual gratification and subjected her to a sickening ordeal in which she was groped and cajoled.
Newcastle Crown Court heard during the ten-minute ordeal in Sunderland the pair kissed and touched the victim, who refused attempts to lure her down a side road.
The court also heard how she also suffered sickening acts of humiliation by Pietri, recorded by Poimendis, with the pair laughing about it.
Her ordeal was caught on CCTV because a concerned bouncer had alerted the police on his radio when he saw the men walking away with her as he was concerned they were "trying to pick up a vulnerable woman".
CCTV operators followed them on camera until the police arrived and took the victim to safety.
The shocking footage of what happened to the woman has been played in court and Judge Amanda Rippon said she was ‘chilled’ by what she saw take place.
She said: "When I watched the footage for the first time I was chilled to the core."
Judge Rippon said what can be seen on the film is "predators circling prey".
Prosecutor Michael
Bunch told the court the victim later made a statement and said: "She described herself being completely in shock upon the realisation she had been taken advantage of by the defendants and it took time to process.
"She was horrified to consider what could have happened had the police not responded promptly.
"She said the incident was still a blur."
Pietri, now 22, of Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, London, previously High
Street Sunderland, admitted sexual assault.
Judge Rippon said Pietri played the "leading role" in what happened and sentenced him to 30 months behind bars.
Poimenidis, 23, of Hylton Road, Sunderland, denied the charge and was found guilty by a jury after a trial.
Judge Rippon accepted he had been "egged on" by Pietri but did play his own part in what happened and sentenced him to 34 months behind bars.
The judge told the pair: "She describes her shock when she understood what had happened to her and acknowledges how fortunate she was that the police arrived when they did.
"You must be sentenced for what you have done. I make it plain I sentence you for what you have not what you might have done."
The court heard the pair had encountered the woman in a pub earlier that night and said they had found her unattractive.
Judge Rippon said they made a "cynical decision to use her for your own sexual gratification, despite what you thought of her".
Both men, who were students and hope to return to university, must sign the sex offenders’ register for life.
The court heard the pair, who had been drinking that night, have been in no trouble before or since and provided references to their ordinarily positive and hard-working characters.