'PREDATOR' SEXUALLY ASSAULTED WOMAN WALKING HOME
A man described as a "predator" by police sexually assaulted a woman as she walked home from a night out.
Alazar Yohans, of no fixed address, first targeted the victim in an Ipswich town centre bar before sexually assaulting her in the Luther Road and Rectory Road area.
It happened in the early hours of Monday, 2 October.
Yohans, who had claimed to be 18 but was believed to be aged between 27 and 32, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court to three years in prison.
Suffolk Police said Yohans had attempted to kiss the victim, a woman in her 30s, in the bar at about 01:30 GMT.
She told her boyfriend who then confronted the defendant.
At about 01:50, Yohans and a friend then left the bar but loitered in the area.
As the victim and her boyfriend left the bar and begun walking toward St Peters Street and Stoke Bridge, Yohans and his friend followed them.
The couple became separated and Yohans followed the woman before approaching her and putting his hands down her trousers.
CCTV camera footage picked up the victim telling Yohans to "leave me alone".
The victim was able to get away and officers were called just after 03:25.
Yohans was found in Maidenhall Approach and arrested.
Following a four-day trial, he was found guilty of two sexual assaults, but not guilty in respect to the third charge of sexual assault.
'Deliberate actions'
Det Con Liam Theobald described Yohans' behaviour "can only be described as that of a predator".
"Not content with forcefully kissing the victim inside the bar, his very deliberate actions of following her as she walked home and then waiting for her to be on her own before subjecting her to an even more serious sexual assault, clearly demonstrate his mindset," he said.
He commended the victim for her bravery and commitment to helping the force throughout the investigation.
Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830
Related Internet Links
2024-04-19T16:07:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd