Highlights
- John Ashby, 32, was sentenced to life at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.
- The judge called him "a very dangerous man" who poses "an extreme danger to women".
- The victim said she "finally felt free" after her attacker pleaded guilty.
A man has been jailed for life for the religiously aggravated rape of a Sikh woman in Walsall, in a case that shook the West Midlands community.
John Ashby, 32, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, with a minimum of 14 years to serve before he can be considered for parole.
He had initially denied charges of sexual assault, strangulation, racially aggravated bodily harm and robbery before admitting the crimes.
The judge, Justice Pepperall, described Ashby as a "deeply unpleasant racist and Islamophobe" who directed anti-Muslim abuse at the victim during the attack, wrongly believing her to be Muslim.
"I have no doubt that you are a very dangerous man," the judge told him. "You pose an extreme danger to women and no reliable way to say how long you remain a danger."
Victim speaks out
The court heard that Ashby had followed the woman, who is in her 20s, from a bus stop to her home on 25 October last year. CCTV footage confirmed he had been on the same bus.
The attack only ended when he was spooked by a noise outside and fled, taking the victim's jewellery and mobile phone. She later picked him out at an identity parade.
In an impact statement read in court, the victim described how the attack had upended her life. "Immediately after the incident, I knew I had to move house.
I could not go back into the place I once called home," she said. She and her partner had been due to marry in January before her life was "drastically changed."
After Ashby pleaded guilty, she said she "finally felt free" and no longer felt "trapped." "I refuse to let this define me and stop me from living my life to the fullest," she added.
Aggravating factors cited by the judge included Ashby's drug use, previous offending, use of a stick as a weapon and the severe psychological harm caused to the victim in her own home.
