Man admits raping Sikh woman in racially aggravated attack | UK News
A man who admitted the religiously aggravated rape of a Sikh woman has been warned he could face life in jail. John Ashby, 32, admitted charges of rape, robbery, intentional strangulation and religiously aggravated assault at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday. Ashby, of no fixed abode, asked to see his barrister and changed his pleas around an hour after being sworn at and told to “sort your s*** out” by a member of the public who approached the dock. The outburst, which the judge described as an “ugly incident”, occurred after Ashby began mumbling during the Crown’s evidence. His victim, a Sikh woman who was hit with a stick, had been due to enter the witness box to give evidence against Ashby later on Tuesday. Opening the case for the Crown on Monday, prosecution KC Phil Bradley said Ashby “targeted” the woman when he saw her on a bus and followed her to her home in Walsall on foot last October. Adjourning the case for sentence on Friday, Mr Justice Pepperall warned Ashby that he …
