Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime Rape

0:00On April 21st, a 32-year-old man named John Ashby pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated rape and assault on a Sikh woman in her walsall, home. The attack happened back in October, and he targeted her as a total stranger. His trial started Monday of Birmingham Crown Court, where he first denied everything. But Tuesday, he admitted responsibility for the whole thing. He followed her off a bus into her place, grabbing a stick along the way. In the bathroom, he raped her while hurling anti-Muslim slurs, even though she Sikh. Prosecutors said he wrongly pegged her faith. Afterward, he told her to hit the bedroom for more, bragging about being white British. A noise outside spooked him, so he bolted, snatching her jewelry and phone. Ashby got arrested two days later in Perry Bar, and she picked him out clean at an ID parade. And then things coming up, underscoring how hate-fueled crimes cut deep in everyday spots.