Overview
- John Ashby, 32, changed his plea to guilty Tuesday at Birmingham Crown Court to religiously aggravated rape and assault after first denying the charges.
- Sentencing is set for Friday, April 24, after the judge said a life term is under consideration.
- Prosecutors said he followed the woman from a bus to her Walsall home on October 25, 2025, forced his way in, abused her over her presumed faith, raped her, and then fled with jewellery and her phone before his arrest in Perry Barr two days later.
- Jurors saw CCTV and police body‑worn camera footage, and forensic tests found his DNA on the victim with matching fingerprints and DNA on a vape and toothbrush in the home.
- In UK law, a religiously aggravated offence is a hate‑crime factor that increases the seriousness of an offence and can raise the sentence, which helps explain the reference to a possible life term.