A vulnerable teenager was forced into prostitution after getting picked up by an older man who found her sitting alone and dejected on the pavement.

The 16-year-old was raped by one man and sexually assaulted by another after she went home with 27-year-old Christopher Kayla-Joseph following a row with her father. Both men handed over cash.

Today four men were convicted of conspiring to arrange the prostitution of a child, the first case of its kind in Sussex, after the girl, from Brighton, told her healthcare worker and police were contacted.

Kayla-Joseph, of Elphick Road, Newhaven, had sex with the girl and gave her alcohol and drugs in order to “acclimatise” her for what was to follow, jurors at Hove Crown Court heard.

The abuse in May and June 2013 culminated in one evening when she was raped at a Newhaven flat by a man nearly 40 years her senior to whom she had been introduced with the words: “She’s for you.”

Prosecutors described Kayla-Joseph as the “prime mover” in the exploitation, but said all four were complicit.

They said he slept with her repeatedly and gave her drugs and alcohol in the days before taking her to the home of Mohammed Kamali, 46, in Harper Road, Newhaven.

There Khosrow Sobhanieh, now 56, raped her once and tried to rape her again before giving Kayla-Joseph £60. Stephen Daramola, 48, sexually assaulted her and then gave her £40, which Kayla-Joseph took from her.

This morning jurors at Hove Crown Court convicted all four men of conspiring to arrange the prostitution of an under-18-year-old. Two other men were cleared.

Kayla-Joseph did not face any charges over his sexual intercourse with the teenager, which prosecutors said she complied with so as not to upset him.

Sobhanieh, of North Lane, Guestling, near Hastings, denied any sexual contact with the teenager but was convicted by a majority verdict of one count of rape and unanimously of one count of attempted rape.

Daramola, of Park Lane, Eastbourne, also denied any sexual activity with the girl, but was convicted by majority verdict of one count of sexual assault.

Kayla-Joseph was also convicted of two offences of supplying cocaine - one by himself and one with Kamali, now of Wilimington Gardens, Eastbourne, and Daramola.

Richard Barton, prosecuting, said the case was a "vivid illustration of how a young, vulnerable girl can be exploited so very easily by older men for their own sexual gratification and monetary gain".

Giuseppi Carella, now 19, of Brighton Rd, Newhaven, was cleared of one count of conspiring to prostitute a child, one count of rape, and one count of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Khalid Del-Rosario, 45, of Upperton Rd, Eastbourne, was cleared of one count of conspiring to prostitute a child and one count of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Speaking outside court, Mr Del-Rosario thanked jurors and said he was pleased to have his name cleared.

The case has been adjourned for sentencing on Monday.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark O'Brien, speaking at the conclusion of the case, said: "This is a landmark case, sending a clear message that anyone who sets out to exploit vulnerable young people in this way can expect to be subject to investigation, and can be brought to justice.

"We also wish to pay tribute to the girl herself, whose evidence, resolutely given with the help of special measures including a screen protecting her from the defendants' view, was key in ensuring this outcome.

"We also thank the Crown Prosecution Service, and prosecution counsel Richard Barton, for their hard work and the professional and compelling way in which the case was presented."