Robber filmed theft from man in sex worker flat

A teenaged robber who filmed himself stealing thousands of pounds from a man he lured to a property with a promise of sex with an escort has been jailed for three years and three months.

Ali Abodabos, then 19, was armed with a machete when he and a man in a balaclava attacked their victim in a Newcastle flat used by sex workers in November 2024, the city's crown court heard.

The victim, who was forced to hand over his phone and transfer £5,250, said the ordeal had been "life-changing".

Abodabos, now 21, admitted robbery and attempting to pervert the court of justice, by trying to get his brother to fabricate witness statements and make the victim withdraw his account to police.

Abodabos first met the victim at the flat on 15 November 2024, prosecutor Ian Cook said, and the following day lured the man back by claiming a woman wanted to have sex with him.

When he got there, Abodabos pulled out a machete and pushed the man into a bedroom.

He and another man demanded the victim hand over his belongings and convert his cryptocurrency into money to transfer to the robbers, the court heard.

The men implied they had a gun and said they would "kill him on the spot" if he did not comply, with the victim "shaking in fear", the court heard.

The second man punched the victim, with Abodabos joining in the assault by slapping the victim in the face, Cook said.

When the cryptocurrency conversion failed, Abodabos got the man to unlock his phone and transfer a total of £5,250 to various accounts of people the robber knew, the court heard.

Abodabos filmed a video showing the victim "cowering" during the ordeal, which ended when the men left the flat after hearing police were in the area.

The victim was told he would be accused of raping one of the sex workers if he reported what had happened, but the robbery came to light months later when officers investigating another matter found the video on Abodabos' phone and contacted the victim.

In November 2025, while being held on remand, Abodabos asked his older brother Abdelelah to get a statement from another witness falsely claiming the victim had been buying drugs at the flat, the court heard.

Abdelelah also contacted the victim and asked him to "drop the case" for the sake of the robber's family, Cook said.

The victim was sent a picture of man holding a large bundle of cash, which was "implicitly offering" to pay him if he withdrew his support for the prosecution, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said the robbery had a "severe, long-lasting and life-changing" impact on him.

He said he had felt "trapped" and "genuinely feared" for his safety throughout the ordeal and still felt "constantly on edge and unsafe" as a result.

In mitigation, the court heard Ali Adodabos, who had 13 offences on his criminal record, had fallen into "gang culture" after he and his family moved to the UK to escape a civil war.

Abdelelah Adodabos was jailed for seven and a half months suspended for a year, with 100 hours unpaid work and a mental health treatment requirement.

Both brothers were made subject to a restraining order indefinitely banning them from contacting the victim.

A teenager who was sent £1,000 by the victim during the robbery was given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order for handling stolen goods.

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