Man pleads guilty of raping a Sikh woman 'he thought was Muslim' in Walsall

The 32-year-old, who initially denied the charges, admitted he was responsible for the attack on Tuesday.

Extracts from body-worn police footage showing the woman, who cannot be identified, were played to a jury of six men and six women on Tuesday, during which she was comforted by a female officer and said her attacker had called her a "bloody Muslim b***h".

The woman, said by witnesses to have been hysterical while repeatedly screaming, told police she had been raped in a bathroom by the intruder, who was armed with a piece of wood and claimed to be a "British master".

The court heard how he demanded she say "hallelujah" and "repeat his mantra" that "he was the master and she was a b***h".

In a video interview played to the court, the complainant told police: "He had a stick in his hand. I said 'who are you' and I started screaming. He switched off the light. He said 'I just want fun with you'. He said 'you are a f**king Muslim b***h', I said I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh.'"

The woman also told police the man was initially aggressive and had continuously verbally abused her before becoming calm.

As the video interview was being played to the jury, a man left the public gallery, approached the glass-fronted dock and swore at Ashby.

Ashby responded by telling the man to "get the f**k out of my face" and also shouted at another member of the public who had remained seated in the public gallery.

Trial judge Mr Justice Pepperall adjourned the case, sending the jury away for a lunch break.

Following the break, the trial resumed without Ashby in the dock.

The judge told the court: "You will notice that the dock is empty. Defendants obviously have a right to attend their trial and Mr Ashby has voluntarily chosen to exercise his right not to come up into the courtroom this afternoon.

"He is represented by counsel. They are in a position to continue. I’m asked by the defence to continue.

"Please don’t speculate further as to why he is not here - it is the evidence that you will need to focus on."

However, just 10 minutes later, the judge said a further adjournment was needed. When the jury of six men and six women returned just before 3pm this afternoon, Ashby had changed his pleas.

His victim was due to enter the witness box to give evidence against Ashby later on Tuesday.

Opening the case for the Crown on Monday, prosecution KC Phil Bradley said Ashby "targeted" the woman when he spotted her on a bus and followed her to her home in Walsall on foot last October. He was arrested in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham two days after the attack.

The court heard how, when he was booked into custody, he told police: "You never see any Englishmen in Perry Barr anymore."

He answered "no comment" to all police questions, except when he was shown a photograph of the woman, when he asked why she was not wearing a hijab and said: "I don't know who that woman is, as far as I'm aware."

Adjourning the case for sentence on Friday, Mr Justice Pepperall warned Ashby that he was considering the imposition of a life sentence.