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Life sentence for religiously aggravated rape
24 Apr
Summary
- Man received a life sentence for rape and religiously aggravated assault.
- The attack involved beatings, strangulation, and racist abuse.
- The victim stated the incident irrevocably changed her life.
John Ashby has been given a life sentence for a violent rape and religiously aggravated assault that occurred in Walsall. During the attack in October 2025, Ashby followed the victim home, entered her house, and subjected her to physical and sexual violence for at least 24 minutes.
The 32-year-old attacker also subjected the woman to religiously motivated abuse, wrongly believing her to be Muslim. He admitted to rape, robbery, intentional strangulation, and religiously aggravated assault at Birmingham Crown Court.
In his victim impact statement, the woman described how the incident had irrevocably changed her life, leaving her feeling lost and a stranger to herself. Ashby has a history of 10 previous convictions for 18 offenses and was homeless at the time of the attack.
Judge Mr Justice Pepperall described Ashby as a "deeply unpleasant racist and Islamaphobe." He ordered Ashby to serve a minimum of 14 years before being eligible for parole, highlighting that the negative mental health effects were due to voluntary drug use, not underlying illness.
