A migrant who was housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge has appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl on a beach in Dorset.

Moffat Konofilia travelled 10,000 miles across the globe from the South Pacific to reach the UK. It is not known when or how Konofilia, 48, entered the UK but he ended up staying on the Bibby Stockholm migrant barge in Portland Harbour.

While there he is alleged to have sexually assaulted a teenage girl on Weymouth beach. Konofilia has appeared before magistrates in Weymouth and pleaded not guilty to the offence which is alleged to have happened in December 2023.

Konofilia, a former football player for the Solomon Islands national team, wore a white puffer jacket and grey tracksuit bottoms in court. Although he speaks English he said his first language is Pijin, a common language in the Solomon Islands.

The court heard he has had two interviews for asylum since he arrived in the UK and claimed that the outcome of his application depends on the result of his court case. The controversial Bibby Stockholm barge closed last November and has since left the UK.

Konofilia now resides at Quadrant Hall in Coventry, a former accommodation building at Coventry University that has been converted to house 100 asylum seekers.

The Solomon Islands are the seventh furthest country from Britain. Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are considered the primary destinations for asylum seekers from the Solomon Islands.

Robert Bates, research director at the Centre for Migration Control, said the case highlights the "allure of Britain's soft asylum system".

He said: "It is unusual to hear of an individual travelling quite so far to claim asylum in Britain, but shows the intractability of this problem in an increasingly interconnected world.

"Many asylum seekers from far-flung corners of the world arrive in Europe, or nearby, on a legal immigration route, such as work or study visas, before falling into the hands of people smuggling gangs for onward transit to Britain.

"For instance, a large number of those on the small boats are Vietnamese nationals who arrive in Eastern Europe on a work visa before being attracted by the allure of Britain’s comparatively soft asylum system. It is likely this individual saw Britain as a viable route for a better life, but it is clearly absurd that they should make an asylum claim here.

"The Solomon Islands are a low-mobility nation, with very little conceivable reason for someone to have a legitimate asylum claim, and with numerous safe countries far closer to it than the western fringes of Europe.

"It reflects the global awareness of the relative ease of gaining asylum in Britain and the multitude of pull factors currently in place which has made our asylum offering one of the most attractive in the western world."

There is currently no specific visa for Solomon Islanders to enter the UK to seek asylum. Visitors have to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation which allows them to remain up to six months.

In 2021 there was civil unrest in the country, that has a population of 800,000, when the government withdrew recognition of Taiwan in favour of China. Earlier this week, new figures revealed that a record number of asylum seekers crossed the English Channel in the first three months of 2025.

Some 6,642 migrants have been detected in the Channel so far this year – up 33% on the same time last year. Konofilia is not due to stand trial until January 2026. But due to the seriousness of the allegation there will be an administrative hearing in April to see if an earlier trial date can be found.

District Judge Orla Austin said: "I am not prepared to wait 10 months for this kind of case. In my view it is the highest priority type of case that we deal with."

Konofilia was released on unconditional bail.