UK Man Sentenced for Rape & Religiously Aggravated Abuse of Sikh Woman

April

2026

The Birmingham Crown Court, UK sentenced a UK resident John Ashby for life on 27 Apr. Earlier, Ashby had admitted to raping a Sikh woman in her home in Walsall, UK in October 2025, while also subjecting her to religiously aggravated abuse. The court learnt that Ashby subjected his victim to a stream of Islamophobic abuse, wrongly believing her to be a Muslim. Armed with a two-foot stick, Ashby had followed the Sikh woman as she got off a bus and entered her property. On hearing a noise inside her home, the woman tried to lock herself in the bathroom but he barged his way in and went on to rape her. The prosecutor said, ‘Once inside the bathroom he turned the light off, telling her that he was here to have fun.’ The judge, Justice Pepperall, said that the details of the attack expose the rapist as a ‘deeply unpleasant racist and Islamophobe’. Before the attack, Ashby had watched anti-women material on social media, some from the influencer Andrew Tate. Ashby was awarded a minimum term of 13 and a half years—a life term which is rare for a single rape—because ‘Ashby was so dangerous, especially to women’. The judge praised the victim, who came back into court after having a panic attack during the sentencing, saying, ‘I have nothing but admiration for your bravery.’ Meanwhile in Chandigarh, more than two months after 24 women staff members of a government senior secondary school lodged a formal complaint against a male colleague alleging harassment and intimidation, the accused continues to remain on duty with no interim administrative action taken so far. The complaint was submitted on 12 Feb to the school's Internal Complaints Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act. Despite the complaint and the number of signatories, the accused continues to attend school, sharing the same workspace as the complainants. Additionally, despite opposition by the Indian union government, the Supreme Court of India (SCI) on 23 Apr held that courts can’t force a woman, especially a minor, to carry a pregnancy against her will. SCI allowed a 15-year old girl (identity, location masked) to medically terminate her over seven-month pregnancy (earlier coverage).