A man who racially abused a Sikh woman as he raped her has pleaded guilty to the assault after being confronted in court by a member of the public.<\/p>\n
John Ashby pleaded guilty to rape, religiously aggravated assault, intentional strangulation, robbery and religiously aggravated assault of the woman at her home in Walsall<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ashby initially pleaded not guilty but unexpectedly changed his pleas after he was sworn at by a member of the public in Birmingham crown court.<\/p>\n The 32-year-old, of no fixed abode, asked to see his barrister and changed his pleas about an hour after being sworn at and told to \u201csort your shit out\u201d by a member of public who approached the dock.<\/p>\n The victim, who is in her 20s, was due to give evidence on Tuesday. Ashby, who wrongly believed the woman was Muslim, used Islamophobic slurs during the attack, calling her a \u201cfucking Muslim bitch\u201d.<\/p>\n The judge said Ashby had been \u201cconvicted of very serious offences\u201d and warned that he was considering the imposition of a life sentence. \u201cIt seems to me that anybody who commits these offences \u2026 is a very dangerous individual,\u201d Justice Pepperall added.<\/p>\n Prosecution lawyer Philip Bradley KC told the court on Monday that Ashby had followed the woman home in Walsall in October last year. The victim had returned home from work and had gone upstairs to change her clothes when she heard a noise downstairs, the prosecution said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs she was home alone, she had no reason to lock the bathroom door but now rushed to do so,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cShe was too late.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashby barged inside where he strangled the victim before repeatedly religiously abusing her. Ashby told the woman she was \u201cdirty\u201d and said he was her \u201cmaster\u201d, the court heard.<\/p>\n The ordeal ended after Ashby ran out of the house when he was \u201cspooked by a noise outside\u201d, Bradley added, taking the victim\u2019s jewellery and mobile phone. There could be \u201cno doubt\u201d that the attacker was Ashby, the prosecution said, citing DNA and fingerprint evidence taken from the scene.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, body-worn police footage was shown to jurors on the day of the attack. In the video, the victim described how the attacker insulted her during the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cHe switched off the light. He said: \u2018I just want fun with you.\u2019 He said: \u2018You are a fucking Muslim bitch,\u2019 I said: \u2018I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh,\u2019\u201d she told officers.<\/p>\n Ashby was arrested three days after the attack at an identity parade. The prosecution said he told officers: \u201cYou never see an Englishman in Perry Barr any more.\u201d<\/p>\n During the police interview, Ashby replied \u201cno comment\u201d to all questions except when he was shown a picture of the woman, when he asked: \u201cWhy isn\u2019t she wearing a hijab?\u201d<\/p>\n