A chef was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday after he was found guilty of groping women under the guise of offering ‘touching therapy’ near Brighton beach.
Fattah Derrahi, 59, approached women who were exercising or strolling along the seafront, complimenting them on their ‘good energy’ and presenting himself as an expert in reiki and yoga.
He would invite them to join him in exercises, pretending to guide them while inappropriately touching their arms and torsos.
Derrahi, who was married and employed at a care home, would then escalate his actions by fondling their breasts and, in some instances, pressing his crotch against them.
Many victims were left in shock, managing to escape once they regained their composure.
Over a span of five years, Derrahi targeted at least 11 women, focusing on those exercising alone in the early morning hours.
Separately, he assaulted a young woman at his job, leaving her ‘anxious, upset and depressed’.
One of Derrahi’s victims said being grabbed by him felt ‘like a disgusting snake wrapped around’ her.
Care home chef Fattah Derrahi was jailed for six years on Friday after pleading guilty to 12 charges of sexual assault
Derrahi, 59, approached the women – who were alone and often exercising in the early morning – offering ‘touching therapy’
Brighton Crown Court heard Derrahi was smiley, non-threatening and friendly when he approached the woman and said: ‘You’ve got good energy.’
He was caught after an appeal by Sussex Police and identified by five of his victims in an identity parade.
Derrahi pleaded guilty to 12 charges of sexual assault on Hove Lawns between 2021 and 2025, sitting emotionless as victims read impact statements in court.
One said she agreed to do some exercises with him and they walked down the beach towards the sea.
They began exercising and he moved her arms before running his hands down her body and onto her breasts.
She also felt him grind his crotch on her.
Another victim said: ‘I was taken advantage of. I felt like a piece of meat, like the person that I am didn’t exist in that moment.’
In her impact statement, another woman said Derrahi cupped her left breast and she quickly walked away.
Another said: ‘I have been filled with shame and self-doubt and have questioned how a grown woman like myself could have left herself vulnerable to a situation like this. He tricked me.
‘When I think about or talk about the assault, I feel sick, dizzy, and anxious. It creates trauma that has a long-lasting effect.’
Derrahi also claimed to be an expert in reiki and yoga, groping the women after they agreed to exercise with him
The married chef assaulted the women on Hove Lawns, which is close to the beach (file pic)
Sentencing Derrahi, Judge Neil Mercer said: ‘Eleven of these women were assaulted in broadly similar conditions. He was out looking for them.
‘He’s gone out of his way looking for lone women so he could inveigle himself into situations whereby he could assault them.’
The judge said many of the women were out exercising on their own in the early morning and were vulnerable.
Judge Mercer added: ‘If he had picked on a Taekwondo instructor, he would have been the one on the receiving end.’
‘He went out looking for particular victims in a particular set of circumstances. He has approached these women pretending to be some sort of instructor.
‘That was nonsense and all he wanted to do was to assault them for his own sexual gratification.’
Derrahi must sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and had to pay a victim surcharge of £228.
Detective Constable Sarah Whitehill said: ‘Women and girls should be safe to enjoy everyday activities in public without fear of being targeted by predatory men. Fattah Derrahi denied all of these women that right.
‘These were extremely distressing incidents for the victims, and I would like to thank each of them for reporting to the police and supporting this investigation.’
DC Whitehill added the public had responded ‘so positively’ to the force’s public appeal to identify Derrahi and he was taken into custody within hours of its launch.
