John Ashby, 32, is accused of following a Sikh woman home from Walsall town centre and raping her ‘because he thought she was Muslim’
A man broke into a Sikh woman’s home and attacked her with a stick before raping her “because he thought she was Muslim”, a court heard.
Prosecutor say John Ashby followed the victim home on a bus from Walsall town centre and “barged” into her property after “assessing” how he could get inside. The 32-year-old then allegedly branded her a “Muslim b****”, telling her he was there to “have fun” and “give her some British c***”.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court were told that Ashby launched a “religiously aggravated” attack on the woman, during which he told her “say hallelujah” and “repeat his mantra” that “he was the master and she was a b****”. He then allegedly fled the scene, leaving the woman “understandably hysterical” and screaming out “help me” as neighbours rushed to her aid.
Days later, he was arrested in Perry Barr and told police while being booked into custody: “You never see any Englishmen in Perry Barr anymore.” When police showed Ashby a photo of the woman during interview, he asked why she was not wearing a hijab.
Of the Crown’s case that the alleged offence was religiously aggravated, prosecutor Phil Bradley KC said: “It was his hostility towards her, believing she was a Muslim and calling her a Muslim b**** before assaulting her.”
Ashby, of no fixed abode, denies rape, intentional strangulation, robbery of jewellery and a mobile phone, and religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm on October 25 last year, reports Birmingham Live.
On the day of the attack, the victim left work and caught the bus to Walsall town centre at around 4.30pm, jurors heard. There, she visited a Poundland store before getting back on the bus to go home.
“A few minutes earlier, unbeknownst to her, this defendant had got on the same bus,” Mr Bradley said in the opening of the case. “He initially sat upstairs but a short while later, he moved to the lower level and that’s where the woman happened to be sitting. A complete stranger to her, this defendant was nevertheless interested in her and had already targeted her.
“We know that because, within seconds of her getting off the bus, at just after 6.30pm to begin the short walk home, he did the same and then he began following her,” Mr Bradley added.
The woman, who hadn’t noticed Ashby, walked home as normal, where he was captured on CCTV “disappearing from view” before emerging on the driveway of a property behind her home. Mr Bradley told the jury of six men and six women: “He was doubtless assessing how he could get into her home address.”
Ashby then allegedly picked up a stick and placed it inside his jacket. The woman arrived home, went upstairs to change her clothes and then entered the bathroom.
Mr Bradley said: “She told police that while she was there she heard a noise downstairs. Because she was home alone, she had no reason to lock the bathroom door but now rushed to do so, initially thinking it was a housemate coming back. However, she was too late. This defendant barged his way in and so the woman’s ordeal began.”
Once inside, Ashby is said to have turned the lights off and told her “he was here to have fun”. Mr Bradley continued: “Despite her screams, he told her to take her clothes off. He struck her with the stick that he had placed into his jacket and he put his hands around her neck to strangle her.”
Ashby then “demanded” she climb into the bathtub, Mr Bradley told the court. The prosecutor continued: “Throughout the attack, he racially and religiously abused her.” Ashby is said to have called the woman a “f****** Muslim b****” and told her she was “dirty”.
He allegedly asked which toothbrush was hers “because he wanted to clean his teeth”. As she sat naked in the bathtub, he “exposed” himself and “slapped” her hair with his genitals, the prosecution say. Ashby told the woman to say “hallelujah” as he poured hot water over her, repeatedly, telling her he was the “master, a big master” and she was a “f****** b****”, Mr Bradley alleged.
He then is said to have raped her – but was ‘not yet finished’. Ashby told the woman to go into the bedroom and lie on the bed, jurors were told.
Mr Bradley said: “He repeated that he was there to have fun and to give her some British c***, a big white c***.” He told her his name was John and that she needed to “repeat his mantra” which was “that he was the master and she was a b****”, Mr Bradley alleged.
In a “desperate attempt to raise the alarm”, the woman “seized her chance to go downstairs”, telling him there was oil in the kitchen. She ran to the front door but the defendant “dragged her back into the house”, it is said. Mr Bradley said that Ashby then became “evidently spooked” by a noise outside.
“In another attempt to seize the moment”, the woman said it was her housemate, the court heard. She then “screamed”, with neighbours rushing to her aid and finding her “understandably hysterical”. Mr Bradley said: “She was naked and she was thoroughly distressed.” He went on: “There can be no doubt that this defendant was the man who attacked the woman.”
The court heard Ashby’s DNA was found on the woman, while DNA on a vape and toothbrush inside the woman’s home matched the defendant. The woman also identified Ashby during an identification parade, the jury was told.
Ashby was arrested in Perry Barr two days later and answered no comment in interview – except when he was shown a photograph of the woman. Mr Bradley said: “He asked why she wasn’t wearing a hijab and added “I don’t know who that woman is as far as I’m aware”.”
The court heard how the woman came to the UK for work in September 2023. It is understood that the issue in the case is one of consent, jurors heard. The trial continues.
