A chef who offered women ‘touching therapy’ before groping them while they exercised near Brighton beach was jailed for six years on Friday.
Fattah Derrahi, 59, approached women as they exercised or walked along the seafront, telling them they had ‘good energy’ and claiming he was a reiki and yoga expert.
After asking if they would like to do some exercises with him, he pretended to instruct them and touched their arms and torsos.
The married chef, who worked in a care home, then cupped their breasts and, in some cases, ran his crotch against them.
Many of the victims froze in shock and fled when they were able.
Derrahi struck at least 11 times over five years, targeting women exercising alone early in the morning.
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.
