Man Pleads Guilty to Religiously Aggravated Rape and Assault
A man has admitted to the religiously aggravated rape and assault of a Sikh woman in her residence in Walsall.
The trial of John Ashby, 32, who has no fixed address, commenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.
Initially denying the charges, Ashby confessed on Tuesday that he was responsible for the attack which occurred in October 2025.
Ashby was apprehended in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham two days after the incident, having followed the woman into her home while armed with a stick.
During the opening statements, the jury was informed that Ashby raped the woman, who was a stranger to him, in her bathroom.
The court also heard that Ashby subjected the victim to a barrage of anti-Muslim abuse, mistakenly believing she was Muslim.
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