Moment racist sex attacker stalks Sikh woman he thought was Muslim before breaking into her home and raping her in religiously motivated assault

A racist attacker has pleaded guilty to raping a Sikh woman he thought was Muslim during a religiously motivated attack on her home.

John Ashby, 32, changed his plea midway through the trial at Birmingham Crown Court today and admitted rape, intentional strangulation, religiously aggravated assault and robbery of the woman in Walsall, West Midlands, in October last year.

He now faces life in prison when he is sentenced Friday.

Ashby first noticed the woman on the bus and followed her home; Here, armed with a stick, he entered and subjected the woman to a terrible attack.

Opening the case for the prosecution on Monday, Phil Bradley KC said Ashby had ‘racially and religiously abused’ him during the attack, calling her a ‘fucking Muslim whore’ and telling her she was dirty.

The victim’s screams could be heard in terrifying footage captured by a nearby CCTV camera and shown to the court on Monday.

She told the first police officers on the scene: ‘He called me a Muslim whore. I said I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh. He said he was an English master.’

Ashby changed his plea after a dramatic day in court in which he was angrily confronted by a member of the Sikh community.

As the jury played a video recording of the victim’s interview with police, Ashby was thought to have muttered “bulls***” before being confronted angrily by the man sitting in the public gallery.

The old man approached the dock, told Ashby ‘just once’ and told him to ‘get on with it’ before the bailiff led him out of the courtroom.

Mr Justice Pepperall, who later praised the bailiff for his quick response, told the jurors to have an early lunch and ordered that the man not be allowed to appear in court again.

The predator then armed himself with a stick before entering his victim’s property and raping her.

John Ashby, 32, pleaded guilty to raping a Sikh woman he thought was Muslim during a religiously motivated attack on her home.

The hearing was abruptly stopped 10 minutes before the afternoon session when Ashby’s lawyer, Michelle Heeley KC, stated that she wanted to speak with Ashby.

After a 30-minute break during which the victim and her partner entered the courtroom, Ashby re-entered the courtroom and pleaded guilty to all four charges against him.

The trial heard Ashby raped the woman in the bathroom of his home, then ordered her to go to her bedroom, where she tried to run towards the front door but was caught and “dragged” back inside.

The prosecutor said Ashby eventually became ‘frightened’ by a voice the victim said was her partner outside, leading him to flee with some of the victim’s jewelery and mobile phone.

Mr Bradley said there was ‘no doubt’ Ashby was responsible for the attack on October 25 last year.

The court heard his DNA was taken from an intimate sample of the victim, his fingerprints were found on an e-cigarette he left at home before he fled, and his DNA was also found on a toothbrush he used in the bathroom.

The court heard Ashby was arrested in the Perry Barr area of ​​Birmingham two days after the attack and was later singled out by the victim during a police identification parade.

Mr Bradley told the court: ‘When he was detained he (Ashby) told police ‘You won’t see any English men in Perry Barr anymore’.

‘He answered ‘no comment’ to all police questions otherwise, but when shown a photograph (of the victim) asked why she was not wearing a headscarf and added: “As far as I know, I do not know who that woman was.”‘

The court heard that on the day of the attack, the woman got on the bus from Walsall city center at around 6.15pm to go home to work.

The prosecutor said Ashby had boarded the same bus minutes earlier and went downstairs where the victim was sitting.

“John Ashby, a complete stranger to (the victim), was nevertheless interested in her and had already targeted her,” Mr Bradley told the court.

‘We know this because within seconds of her getting off the bus at 6.30pm to begin the short walk home, the man began following her.’

Ashby was caught on CCTV walking past her address before ‘speeding back’ and was seen in the driveway of a property behind her home ‘unsuspectingly assessing how he could get into her address’.

At this point he grabbed a stick and placed it inside his jacket.

The victim had gone into the upstairs bathroom when he heard a noise from the house and ran to lock the door, thinking a roommate had returned.

The prosecutor said, ‘But it was too late and the defendant burst in.’

‘And thus began (the victim’s) ordeal.’

Chilling CCTV showed Ashby following woman from bus stop to home

After an ordeal that lasted more than 20 minutes, he fled the scene as his victim’s screams filled the air.

The defendant declared that he was ‘here to have fun’ and hit the victim with a stick and ordered her to undress.

The court heard the attacker then put his hands around her neck to strangle her.

During the sexual assault that followed, Ashby told the woman he was the ‘master’ and she was a ‘fucking bitch’ and ordered her to say ‘hallelujah’ as ​​he poured water on her.

At one point, he told the woman his name was John and asked which toothbrush was hers because he wanted to brush his teeth, the court heard.

The prosecutor said the woman immediately alerted her neighbors after escaping from her attacker’s clutches, “naked and completely distressed”.

The jury was shown police body camera footage taken after officers were called to the home in Walsall minutes after the attack.

The victim was seen screaming hysterically and hitting her legs while explaining what happened to her.

She said: ‘He called me a Muslim whore. I said I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh. He said he was an English master.’

In a police interview played to the jury, the woman told investigators Ashby made her repeatedly say he was a master and that she was a b**** during the ordeal.

When Ashby said she wanted to go downstairs, the woman took the opportunity to open the front door and scream at the top of her voice.

‘He came behind me and closed the door and then started slapping me in the face,’ he said.

‘I told him my husband was coming, so he took my phone and ran away.’

The victim was going to take the witness stand to testify against Ashby when he confessed to his crime.

Mr Justice Pepperall told Ashby he would be sentenced on Friday.

He said: ‘Breaking into a woman’s home and committing your crimes based on her assumed religion makes you a very dangerous individual and the court must bear in mind whether a life sentence is appropriate.’