Man dragged girl out to sea and raped her

A20-year-old man has been found guilty of the “brazen” rape of a 15-year-old girl after he took her out of her depth in the sea off Bournemouth beach on a busy summer’s day to assault her.

A jury found Gabriel Marinoaica, of Darlastan, Walsall, West Midlands, guilty of the three charges of sexual assault and the rape of the teenager.

He was acquitted of a further charge of sexual assault by biting her neck.

Judge Susan Evans KC remanded the defendant in custody to be sentenced on April 19.

She told him: “You have been convicted by the jury of what are really serious offences.

“It was a brazen thing to have done in broad daylight on the beach.”

Ellie Fargin, prosecuting, told the trial at Bournemouth Crown Court that the victim had been in the sea with friends at the Dorset resort on Sunday July 18 2021 when she started playing with a ball with another group in the water.

After her two friends had gone back to the beach, the complainant had gone to fetch the ball when it had been kicked away and had been picked up by the defendant, Ms Fargin said.

She said that Marinoaica initially refused to give the ball back but did so when the complainant asked a second time.

The defendant asked her name and her age before saying his name was Dabby and he was from Birmingham, she said.

Ms Fargin said: “It was at this point the defendant pulled at (her) arm and pulled her out to sea.

“(She) could no longer touch the bottom; she really was in deep water. (She) told the defendant ‘No, get off me’, but he ignored her.”

Ms Fargin said that the defendant then groped the complainant and kissed her before he raped her for about a minute until someone approached.

Ms Fargin said: “He took her out of her depth, he made her vulnerable. She couldn’t even swim; he might not have known that, but he might have known she could not touch the bottom.

“And why did he do that? So he could do what he wanted to do. She didn’t consent – he simply didn’t care.”

The prosecutor said that the complainant later told her family and they informed the police.

Marinoaica was arrested 11 months later and semen found in the complainant’s bikini matched his DNA.

‘BRAZEN’ ATTACK: The assault happened at Bournemouth beach in broad daylight.