A paedophile groomed a girl, 13, online before flying from Dubai to the UK to meet with her for sex. Hamdan Alshamsi, 21, met the teenager on Snapchat, a social media site, where he sent her a barrage of messages over a few months. The vulnerable 13-year-old finally agreed to meet with him, so he flew to the UK and checked into a four-star hotel in Brighton. The groomer then ordered an Uber taxi to take them to his seafront accommodation, where he spent two days sexually assaulting her in his hotel room.

Police arrested the paedophile while at the hotel spa and wellness centre after receiving a tip. They then traced the victim to his location using her mobile phone. Authorities found the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wandering down a hotel hallway, where she told them she wanted to be with her mother. Police carried out a search of the hotel room where condoms, lubricant, vodka and a whipped cream canister were found.

On Tuesday, Alshamsi was sentenced to six years in prison after admitting three charges of sexual activity with a child.

The girl's family said he has destroyed the innocence of their child, leaving her with psychological damage, which she is receiving counselling for.

Her mother said: "He has taken away our little girl. He took away the virginity of a girl who should be learning about sex education at school and not having sex with a grown adult.

"She was honest with him and told him her age. He knew what he was doing, what he was coming over here for."

Alshamsi made contact with the Year 9 schoolgirl online last year, Lewes Crown Court heard.

The paedophile, a university student in Abu Dhabi, lied to the girl about his age, telling her he was just 16 years old. Their message exchange discussed having sex, the court heard, and he offered to travel to the UK to meet up.

Alshamsi flew to Britain on Christmas Eve last year, travelling to Brighton on December 27 where he checked into the £250-a-night hotel.

The victims family said the teenager is now on "suicide watch" due to the trauma inflicted.

In mitigation, Daniel Darnbrough, defending, said Alshamsi had brought shame on his respectable family, with his four sisters being "disgusted" by his own behaviour.

Speaking after the case, Detective Inspector Sean Booth from the Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: "This was a distressing case which showed the lengths Alshamsi was prepared to go to engage in sexual activity with a young teenage girl. She was vulnerable, and he exploited her trust.

"I would also like to praise the professionalism of our officers from Brighton Response and our Neighbourhood Policing Team who completed an extended search of the seafront and a meticulous search inside the hotel which ensured the victim was brought safely back to her family, and that Alshamsi was arrested swiftly.

"Thanks to this work, Alshamsi had no choice but to plead guilty to the offences when presented with the evidence from our investigation."

He added that the victim and her family had shown considerable "bravery" throughout the investigation and received one-to-one support from specially-trained officers.

He said: "We continue to encourage anyone who has been the victim of child sexual exploitation and sexual offences to come forward and report their experience to us."