UK Man Ruined Sikh Woman’s Life, Yet She Fights Back!

A Sikh woman was raped by a vagabond in the UK. The other day, the accused, John Ashby, 32, was sentenced to life imprisonment for 14 years at the Birmingham Crown Court. Responding to the verdict, she said that she is no longer trapped and can now hope to live life fully again.

The woman was attacked by Ashby after he followed back to her home in Walsall, believing that she was a Muslim. Ashby followed the victim to her house after both of them got down from the same bus. He then entered her home while she was upstairs.

During the proceedings, a victim impact statement was read out on the survivor’s behalf. The statement said that before the assault, she was happy and doing well in her job.

She said that she had plans of her future. She has a partner and both of them were going to get married in India in January. “That version of my life has been stripped away by a complete stranger.”

She said that after the incident she could not go home but after the verdict she said, she feels safe. After the assault, she moved to a new home and left her job as she could not work due to the trauma, which led to a financial crisis.

She said: “I would no longer let this person and this incident control my life. I wanted to face the person who has done this to me, see him eye to eye. Hearing him plead guilty made me feel emotional, I am now no longer trapped. Now I can look forward to the future with my partner. I hope we can get married and I can return to work. I refuse to let this define me and stop me living my life to the fullest.”

Sukhvinder Kaur, associated with charity services, said the assault created fear in not just the woman, but the entire community.

Initially, Ashby denied all charges but later changed and admitted rape, intentional strangulation, robbery, as he lifted her jewellery and a mobile phone, and religiously driven assault.