John Ashby, 32, who has no fixed address, pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial at Birmingham Crown Court after initially denying charges relating to a violent home invasion in Walsall in October 2025. Image credit/West Midlands Police
Ashby admitted rape, robbery, intentional strangulation and a religiously aggravated assault. Prosecutors said the victim did not know Ashby before the attack. She had returned home after getting off a bus, unaware he had followed her, and he later entered her property armed with a stick he had picked up from the street.
After hearing a noise, the woman locked herself in a bathroom, but Ashby forced his way in. Prosecutor Phil Bradley KC told the court Ashby turned off the light and told the woman he was “here to have fun.” He struck her with the stick, strangled her, and forced her into a bathtub where he turned on hot water and continued the assault.
Throughout the ordeal Ashby subjected the victim to a stream of Islamophobic abuse, apparently believing she was Muslim though she is Sikh. Prosecutors said he compelled her to repeat phrases, referred to himself as “the master,” and after raping her made her lie on a bed while continuing abusive and degrading comments. He stole jewellery and a mobile phone before leaving when a noise outside seemed to disturb him.
The victim raised the alarm and police arrived within minutes; she later identified Ashby at an identity parade. He was arrested two days later in Birmingham’s Perry Barr area. During police interviews he questioned the victim’s appearance, including why she was not wearing a hijab, and made remarks in custody expressing hostility toward the local community.
Court proceedings were briefly disrupted when a member of the public approached the dock and swore at Ashby; court staff intervened and order was restored, with the judge praising the usher for calm handling of the incident.
Ashby is due to be sentenced on Friday. Justice Pepperall warned a life sentence is being considered, describing the defendant as dangerous and stressing the seriousness of a violent home invasion aggravated by hostility based on the victim’s perceived religion.
