A taxi driver has been jailed for 32 months for a vicious and shocking attack on a woman and girl in Hove.
Kirolus Ramis, also known as Kay or Kirlos Ramis, was jailed at Lewes Crown Court by Judge Mark Van Der Zwart on Tuesday (10 September).
Ramis, 37, of Hangleton Road, Hove, admitted the assaults in March. He also pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to an iPhone belonging to one of his victims.
At an earlier hearing the judge said that he “viciously attacked” the woman and “brutally assaulted” the girl in Goldstone Crescent in September 2022.
The judge also said that Ramis appeared to be “stringing this out” as the months passed between his guilty pleas and his eventual sentence.
Judge Van Der Zwart said last month: “You claimed to have food poisoning at one point. You were abroad in rehab. You haven’t arranged legal representation.
“I’m suspicious that you’re trying to delay and delay and delay this.”
He granted Ramis bail one last time, barring him from contacting his victims and from going to the Holmbush shopping centre, in Shoreham, and to the woman’s address I Goldstone Crescent, Hove.
Ramis denied dragging his heels and faced justice this week, saying that he had not been able to see his children in the two years since his arrest.
He had a business – shops that he had been unable to open – and he’d spent his £67,000 savings, he said, with £43,000 going on solicitors and the rest on rehab abroad.
Ramis, who previously lived in the Milner Flats, in Kingswood Street, Brighton, and Hebe Road, Shoreham, said: “I was told that I didn’t qualify for legal aid.”
He told the court that he had even put his BMW up for sale for £24,000 as he tried to raise funds to cover his legal fees.
His previous lawyers stopped representing him when he was unable to pay them and, since his arrest, he said, his mortgage had gone up from £1,479 a month to £3,940.
Judge Van Der Zwart jailed Ramis for 32 months for assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) and for months to be served concurrently for each of two common assaults.
He imposed no separate penalty for the criminal damage.
Sussex Police said: “A man has been jailed for assault against two people known to him following an incident in Hove.
“Officers were called to an address in Goldstone Crescent at around 1.30am on Sunday 4 September 2022 to a report of a disturbance.
“It was heard Ramis punched a woman and repeatedly attacked her, causing serious injuries, before also assaulting a girl.
“Ramis, 37, of Hangleton Road, Hove, pleaded guilty to all charges on Tuesday 26 March. He is now behind bars.”
Inspector Alexandra Bailey said: “We work closely with partners, victims and our communities to improve our response to violence against women and girls in Sussex which remains a priority for the force.
“This was a shocking attack and I am glad that we were able to provide some peace for Ramis’s victims.
“We acted quickly and were able to secure charges for his violent behaviour which was unacceptable.
“We will hold offenders to account by arresting them, gathering evidence and putting them before the courts.”
