Man admits rape and religiously aggravated abuse of Sikh woman

A man has admitted he raped a Sikh woman in her home while subjecting her to a tirade of religiously aggravated abuse, changing his plea on the second day of his trial after facing verbal abuse in the dock.

The hearing for John Ashby, 32, of no fixed address, began at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

He had denied the charges against him, but on Tuesday admitted he was responsible for the attack in Walsall in October 2025. He asked to speak to his barrister about an hour after proceedings were interrupted by a member of the public who approached the dock and swore at the accused.

The outburst came after Ashby started mumbling during the Crown's evidence over the attack.

The woman's ordeal began last autumn when Ashby followed her as she got off a bus. Unbeknownst to her, he entered her property armed with a stick he had picked up from the ground.

At the opening of the case, the jury was told how on hearing a noise inside her home, the woman - a stranger to Ashby - tried to lock herself in the bathroom, but he barged his way in and went on to rape her.

"Once inside the bathroom he turned the light off, telling her that he was 'here to have fun'," prosecutor Phil Bradley KC said.

The court heard that during the attack, Ashby subjected his victim to a tirade of anti-Muslim abuse, wrongly believing her to be of that faith.

Ashby was arrested in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham two days later.

During a police interview, when shown a photograph of the victim and asked whether he knew her, he asked why she was not wearing a hijab, the jury was told on Monday.

When booked into custody in a police station in Perry Barr, he stated "you never see any Englishmen in Perry Barr anymore", the court heard.

Recounting the woman's ordeal on Monday, Bradley said: "Despite her screams, he told her to take her clothes off, he struck her with the stick, and he put his hands around her neck to strangle her and demanded that she climb into the bathtub.

"He turned on the hot water tap and began pouring water over her, telling her to say 'hallelujah' as he did so."

The court heard that Ashby told the woman his name was John and demanded she repeat "his mantra that he was 'the master'."

The prosecution said that after raping the woman, Ashby instructed her to go into the bedroom and lie on the bed, saying again he was there "to have fun" while referring to his private parts as being white British.

The court heard the attack only came to an end because Ashby was "evidently spooked by a noise outside" and ran away, taking the victim's jewellery and a mobile phone.

The jury was told that that the woman raised the alarm and police arrived within minutes.

The woman picked Ashby out as her attacker at an identity parade days later, the court heard.

Ashby admitted charges of rape, robbery, intentional strangulation and religiously aggravated assault.

He is due to be sentenced on Friday, and the judge Justice Pepperall warned Ashby that he was considering the imposition of a life sentence.

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