Joseph Eubank is scheduled to stand trial today (Monday, 23 September) for the alleged rape of a teenage girl on the beach adjacent to the Palace Pier in Brighton.
Joseph Eubank, 27, the son of boxer Chris Eubank Sr and brother of boxer Chris Eubank Jr, refutes two allegations of rape.
The case was initiated following an incident reported by a girl under 18 on the evening of Saturday, July 16, 2022.
Sussex Police previously said that the complainant, who is over the age of 15, had been provided with support by specialist officers. They cannot seem to give an exact age of the survivor, however.
Joseph Eubank was remanded on conditional bail when he appeared before the court earlier this year.
The conditions included Joseph Eubank living and sleeping at his home, in Hill Drive, Hove, and obeying a curfew between 8 pm and 8 am, subject to doorstep checks by police.
Joseph Eubank was also ordered not to apply for travel documents that would permit him to travel outside England and Wales.
Jurors heard on Monday how the teenager had been drinking vodka with friends before they got separated and she was approached by a man she had never met before, while she was looking for her lost phone.
Opening the case, prosecutor Beverly Cripps, said how the girl had never been drunk like that before and “couldn’t see straight.”
She was holding onto the bar where she was standing by some steps because she was swaying, the court heard.
The prosecutor said the teenager remembered Eubank asking her age, to which she replied 16, and he said he was 26, before saying something like “let’s go look at the moon”.
Ms Cripps said: “She said that he had initially been friendly but had become more aggressive as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her up moving her quickly down the beach on each time she fell.
“She described her confusion as to how she had got so far down the beach.”
In a video interview speaking to police, the girl recalled how she kept falling down on the stones because she couldn’t stand up, and how Eubank had a hold of her wrist, adding: “It was quite tight, he kept pulling me back up and I was falling on the stones.
“Pretty sure he kissed me, I was very confused, I didn’t realise I had been dragged down to the beach bit.”
The girl claimed the defendant was “rushing” to get down the beach, and said he pulled her down to the bottom of the groynes near the sea during the incident at around 11.30pm.
It was on the beach where the girl claimed Eubank forced her down on him, before she was on her front lying on the stones.
She realised afterwards she had been raped, the court heard.
Asked what was going through her head, she told police: “I was thinking how did I get into this position. It felt like I was up at the steps a second ago.”
Jurors were told after Eubank walked away and the girl was “immediately upset” and crying, and found her friend’s phone to call them and tell them what happened.
She told police she said to her friend: “I said some guy took me down to the bottom of the beach and I think he raped me.
“I think after that I was just crying for about half an hour probably.”
Ms Cripps told the jurors there is no dispute on behalf of Eubank that he intentionally penetrated the teenager, but that the issue was of consent.
“The Crown say (she) is vulnerable because of her age, drunken condition… (she was) so intoxicated she was drifting in and out and had a dim appreciation of what happened to her and therefore did not consent.
“Joseph Eubank’s case is she did consent and she was able to do so freely.”
The court also heard how a beach cleaner found the girl’s phone and when it was returned to her, she found a message from an unknown number sent a couple of hours after the incident saying: “Hey pup are you ready for round two”.
She said the text scared her so she deleted it and told police later when the investigation progressed.
Eubank denies the charges and the trial continues.
UPDATE – See the transcript below:
Today, Joseph Eubank’s very expensive barrister Kate Blackwell (https://www.2harecourt.com/barristers/kate-blackwell-kc/) cross-examined the young woman, who was 16 when she found herself stranded on the seafront.
Miss Blackwell said: “You described to police how you were stumbling crossing the stones on the beach because you were drunk. I want to suggest it was because of the boots?
The teen, whose identity is protected by law, said: “I had worn those boots on the beach very often and it wasn’t down to the shoes.”
Miss Blackwell said: “To describe those boots on the morning after, you said they were 4in heels?”
The complainant said: “I think it was more like 3in.”
Miss Blackwell said: “They were high?”
The girl said: “Yes.”
Miss Blackwell said: “When you got to the quiet spot, you and he sat down on the beach and you started to kiss?”
The girls said: “I don’t remember much of what happened when we were down there. I told police we could have.”
When they started to have sex, Miss Blackwell said: “Did you tell him you didn’t want to do that?”
The girls said: “I don’t remember saying anything.”
Miss Blackwell said: “I have to suggest he didn’t force you.”
The barrister said that the girl was willing but she said: “No.”
Asked if she could explain how they happened to do what they were doing, she said: “I don’t know. I was really disoriented and as I said in interview.
“I was really confused as to what was happening. It was just a lot – and I didn’t know what to do or how to stop it.”
The girl appeared to be crying as the barrister asked her: “Do you know if you resisted him (or) said anything to him?”
She said: “I was really disorientated, worrying about my phone and where my friends were.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You were more worried about your phone?”
The girl replied: “I was worried about where it was and how to contact my parents and friends and where they were.”
Miss Blackwell said that the girl gave her phone number to Eubank, son of retired boxer Chris Eubank Sr and brother of boxer Chris Eubank Jr, after the pair had had sex – and the girl replied: “I don’t know when I gave him my number.”
The barrister said: “I want to suggest it was this point before he left?
The girl said: “I don’t remember when I gave him my phone number.”
Miss Blackwell said: “It could have been then?”
The teen replied: “I can’t give you that answer. I don’t know.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Why did you give him your phone number?”
The teen replied: “I was scared.”
Miss Blackwell said: “A short time after, he sent you a message didn’t he? It said something like, ‘Hey pup, you up for round two?’”
The girl said: “Yes.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Had you spoken about meeting up again?”
The girl replied: “I don’t remember anything I said to him on the beach.”
Miss Blackwell said: “The first person you saw after was your friend. You said some guy took me down to the bottom of the beach and I think he raped me.”
The girl said: “I was so disorientated and confused when I was down there.”
The barrister said: “You were able to meet up with your friend because you found her phone. Did you also access her Snapchat or your Snapchat?”
The girl said: “I’m not sure.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You said, I logged into my Snapchat on her phone because I was trying to text my mates. You logged into your own Snapchat on her phone?”
The girl said: “Maybe, yeah.”
Miss Blackwell said: “When you logged in, did you notice there was a message for you indicating he (Eubank) had added you to his Snapchat?”
The girl said: “No.”
Miss Blackwell said: “I have to suggest, even though you said you were very disorientated, your actions might suggest otherwise. Get into friend’s phone, make calls, send messages. You were able to do all of that?”
The teen said: “I was able to concentrate and do all of that because I was sat down under a light and focused on the phone. It wasn’t a hard task. When I was disorientated, it was dark.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Why didn’t you tell police you had given him your number?”
The girl said: “I didn’t remember doing that.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You might not have remembered it on the Sunday morning when you didn’t have your phone back. When you were interviewed, you did know. Why didn’t you tell police?
The girl said: “Because I was really scared.”
Miss Blackwell said: “By the time of your first interview, you had received that message, you deleted and blocked him?”
The girl said: “Yes.”
The barrister asked: “Do you remember being asked if you had ever met him before or had any contact with him since? That was a lie. Why did you lie to police?”
The girl said: “I was really scared. I thought I was going to be in trouble. I told them a couple of months later when I realised I wasn’t going to be in trouble.”
The barrister said: “There was nothing stopping you from saying, he messaged me. Did you know when you were deleting his message who he was?”
The girl said: “I assumed from the ‘round two’ it was him.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Why did it take you so long to go back to police and tell the truth?
The girl said: “I didn’t realise I gave him my number. I thought it would be useless information until I thought it would probably be for the best.”
When her friends found her, it was close to midnight. Miss Blackwell said: “When you met up with friends on the beach, you told them you didn’t want to go to police?”
The girl said: “I don’t remember saying that but I could have.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You knew you had been up for what happened on the beach with Mr Eubank?”
The girl said: “No.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Do you remember speaking to your friend. She asked what happened and you said, I don’t know?”
The girl said: “In my drunken state, I was trying to get my words out properly.”
Miss Blackwell said that the girl was more concerned about her missing phone than what had happened on the beach, asking: “You were really concerned you had lost your phone. What was the reason?”
The girl said: “It was a new phone. I was worried my parents were going to be angry at me for losing it.”
Miss Blackwell said: “That was in your mind from when you realised you couldn’t find it?”
The girl said: “Yeah.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Were you also panicking because you knew you had to be back at friend’s house for midnight?”
The girl said: “Yes.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Were you worried your friends would be angry?”
The girl said: “No.”
Miss Blackwell said: “Why were you worrying?”
The girl replied: “Because her parents are really strict.”
Miss Blackwell said: “The message to your mum on Instagram: ‘I’m sorry for not being able to tell you this in person. I was raped on Brighton beach and I’m pretty sure he stole my phone.’”
The girl said: “I didn’t know where my phone was. In my drunk state, I was so out of it and upset.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You knew he hadn’t stolen your phone.”
The girl said: “I didn’t know who had my phone.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You were lying about the situation. You were lying about being raped in order to get yourself out of trouble for losing your new phone.”
The girl said: “No.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You told police you lost it before you met him?”
The girl said: “I was very, very drunk. I really didn’t know what was going on.”
Miss Blackwell said: “I have to suggest to you that you were not as drunk as you told the jury and you knew exactly what you were doing?”
The girl said: “I was very drunk. I was only 16. I was extremely drunk.”
Miss Blackwell said: “You have exaggerated what happened to you in order to get yourself out of trouble with your parents.”
The girl said: “No.”
Beverly Cripps, prosecuting, said: “What did you think would happen if your parents found out you had lost your phone?”
The girl replied: “it’s absurd to say I lied because of my phone.”
The trial continues.
UPDATE 2
While out on the seafront near the Palace Pier, he said that he approached the girl, whose identity is protected by law, because he was attracted to her and he started a conversation.
Beverly Cripps, prosecuting, had previously told the court that the teenager had been drinking vodka with friends as they celebrated a birthday. She had never been drunk like that before and “couldn’t see straight”.
But Eubank, who said he had not had any alcohol that night, said that “she looked completely sober” as they chatted near the beach and he did not think that she was drunk.
He told the jury: “There were smirks and smiles. There were intense looks her and I were sharing while having these conversations that suggested we were both quite attracted to one another.”
Jurors previously heard from the teenage girl that she was “rushed” down the beach and fell on the pebbles, unable to stand up, but Eubank kept pulling her back to her feet.
He denied this, saying that as they set off for a walk he interlocked arms with the girl and “slowly and calmly” walked to towards the shore.
Asked if the pair had discussed what they would do down the beach, Eubank said no, adding: “Her body language on the night was very clear to me.”
Eubank said that they began kissing in a secluded part of the beach before she asked his age. It was at this point, he said, when he learned she was 16.
He told jurors that he pulled back and gasped but said she said: “No, no, no, it’s fine. It’s ok.”
He added: “She was showing no signs of restraint. She was completely happy in the environment. We both were.”
He told the court how, after “no more than 25 minutes” together, he went back up to the beach to meet his cousin who had been calling him.
On reflection, this had been the “wrong thing to do” and he added: “If I hadn’t done that, I don’t think I would be in the situation that I am now.”
Eubank later texted the teenager to see if she wanted to meet up again in a message which read: “Hey pup, are you ready for round two?”
The jury heard previously that the girl had deleted the message and did not tell police until some time afterwards – and by then it was not possible to retrieve the message from her phone.
Police seized Eubank’s phone but he would not give them access – and still hadn’t. He said that this followed the death of his brother Sebastian Eubank almost exactly a year before.
Eubank said: “My father was going through a difficult time and said some sensitive things and I didn’t want anyone seeing them.”
Miss Cripps asked: “Why didn’t you want police to have that message on your phone?”
Eubank said “That’s not easy to explain. I thought the police would be able to figure all this out very quickly. I didn’t think it would ever get this far.
“I thought the CCTV footage would show what happened (and) I would be proven very innocent.”
Miss Cripps asked: “Was there anything on your phone, Mr Eubank, that you didn’t want the police to see?”
He said: “Other than family matters, no.”
The prosecutor said that, in that case, it would have been sensible to give the police access to his phone.
He said: “If I was sensible, I wouldn’t be in the situation that I am in.”
Miss Cripps said: “The reality is that you saw a drunk young girl and took her down the beach to a quiet, secluded and dark place and raped her.”
Eubank said: “No, that’s not what I did.”
The prosecutor said: “You saw what she was like. You saw how she was drunk and you dragged her down the beach to have sex with her. You neither knew or didn’t care that she wasn’t consenting.”
Eubank said: “That’s not true. No.”
He was asked if he often met women randomly and had sex with them on the beach and he said: “That was the first time.”
Eubank, of Hill Drive, Hove, denies two counts of rape.
The trial continues.
UPDATE 3
Joseph Eubank has been cleared of raping a girl on Brighton beach near the Palace Pier by a jury at Lewes Crown Court this afternoon (Friday 27 September).
Eubank, 27, of Hill Drive, Hove, was acquitted of two counts of rape after a five-day trial. The jury spent four hours deliberating.
Judge Christine Laing thanked the jury and told them that the courts dealt with a large number of cases of rape and sexual assault on Brighton beach.
Judge Laing said she had asked whether there could be better lighting and CCTV cameras further down the beach.
The judge said: “You need to think about your behaviour, Mr Eubank.
“The jury has found you not guilty. But you need to reflect on what you did that night. It was not decent behaviour in any way, shape or form.”
On the court’s steps, Eubank’s solicitor Shahid Choudhry said: “Mr Joseph Eubank is hugely relieved that he has been found unanimously not guilty but the jury.
“This has been a challenging time for him and his family.
“The allegation has been hanging over him for some two and a half years and he wishes to express his gratitude m to the court for ensuring he received a fair trial
“Joseph’s life has been at a standstill since he was a arrested and he can now move on to rebuild his future.
“Joseph would like to thank his family for his unwavering and unfailing support throughout.”
The girl, who was 16 at the time, reported being raped near on the beach, near the Palace Pier, in Brighton, on the night of Saturday 16 July 2022.
She was in Brighton to celebrate a friend’s birthday and said that she was drunk. One of her friends said that the girl had been “chugging” vodka. But Eubank told the jury that she did not seem drunk.
The jury was told that the defendant, the son of retired boxer Chris Eubank Sr and the brother of boxer Chris Eubank Jr, admitted having sex with the girl but said that it was with her enthusiastic participation.
Sussex Police said: “Specialist officers supported her while an investigation was launched.
“Joseph Eubank, 27, of Hill Drive in Hove, was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of rape of a woman over 16.
“He denied the offences and the case went to trial at Lewes Crown Court, where a jury returned a verdict of not guilty to both offences on Friday 27 September.”
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Em Hayler, said: “We respect the decision of the jury and the judicial process.
“We acknowledge the impact this case has had on everyone involved throughout the past two years.
“I’d like to thank everyone who assisted us in our investigation and the subsequent court process.”
The force said: “Sussex Police will continue to encourage and support any victims of sexual offences and ensure that these cases are thoroughly investigated.
“If you or someone you know is a victim of a sexual offence, please report to police online or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.