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A man who racially abused a Sikh woman as he raped her has pleaded guilty to the assault after being confronted in court by a member of the public.
John Ashby pleaded guilty to rape, religiously aggravated assault, intentional strangulation, robbery and religiously aggravated assault of the woman at her home in Walsall.
Ashby initially pleaded not guilty but unexpectedly changed his pleas after he was sworn at by a member of the public in Birmingham crown court. The 32-year-old, of no fixed abode, asked to see his barrister and changed his pleas about an hour after being sworn at and told to “sort your shit out” by a member of public who approached the dock.
The victim, who is in her 20s, was due to give evidence on Tuesday. Ashby, who wrongly believing the woman was Muslim, used Islamophobic slurs during the attack, calling her a “fucking Muslim bitch”.
The judge said Ashby had been “convicted of very serious offences” and warned that he was considering the imposition of a life sentence. It seems to me that anybody who commits these offences … is a very dangerous individual,” Justice Pepperall added.
Prosecution lawyer Philip Bradley KC told the court on Monday that Ashby had followed the woman, home in Walsall in October last year. The victim had returned home from work and had gone upstairs to change her clothes when she heard a noise downstairs, the prosecution said.
“As she was home alone, she had no reason to lock the bathroom door but now rushed to do so,” Bradley said. “She was too late.” Ashby barged inside where he strangled the victim before repeatedly religiously abusing her. Ashby told the women she was “dirty” and said he was her “master”, the court heard.
The ordeal ended after Ashby ran out of the house when he was “spooked by a noise outside”, Bradley added, taking the victim’s jewellery and mobile phone. There could be “no doubt” that the attacker was Ashby, the prosecution said, citing DNA and fingerprint evidence taken from the scene.
On Tuesday, body-worn police footage was shown to jurors on the day of the attack. In the video, the victim described how the attacker insulted her during the attack.
“He switched off the light. He said: ‘I just want fun with you.’ He said: ‘You are a fucking Muslim bitch’. I said: ‘I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh,’” she told officers.
Ashby was arrested three days after the attack at an identity parade. The prosecution said he told officers: “You never see an Englishman in Perry Barr any more.”
During the police interview, Ashby replied “no comment” to all questions except when he was shown a picture of the woman, when he asked: “Why isn’t she wearing a hijab?”
The attack provoked fear among Sikh women in Midlands who said they had “changed everything” about their daily routines. The charity Sikh Women’s Aid, which is supporting the victim, said it welcomed the guilty plea.
Its chair, Sukhvinder Kaur, said: “The defendant chose to proceed to trial, prolonging proceedings and contributing to the ongoing trauma experienced by the victim, only to change his plea partway through. This reflects wider concerns about how perpetrators are able to navigate the system in ways that can compound harm for survivors.
“We now look to the sentencing hearing on Friday and expect that it reflects the severity of the harm caused and the clear danger this perpetrator poses.”
Ashby is due to be sentenced at the crown court on Friday morning.
Ch Supt Samantha Batey, of Walsall police, called the incident “an abhorrent and violent attack” which was “made all the worse by the language which Ashby used during the ordeal”.
Batey said the police continued to support the victim and their thoughts remained with her and her loved ones.
“We understand the impact this horrific attack had on communities in the West Midlands and beyond,” the superintendent said.
“We have spoken with faith and community leaders in the aftermath of what happened and remain committed to doing everything we can to make women safer, and feel safer.”
The Sikh Federation UK also welcomed the plea but described the “lack of accountability” shown by Ashby to be “deeply unacceptable”.
Jas Singh, principle adviser to the federation said: “The court has heard disturbing evidence of the abusive language used during a violent attack carried out in the victim’s own home ... We now expect the court to reflect the seriousness of this offence in its sentencing.”
The organisation also called on the government to do more to tackle anti-Sikh hate.
