Colchester man jailed for raping Uni of Essex student while she slept

17 April 2019, 13:26 | Updated: 17 April 2019, 13:28

A 25-year-old man from Colchester has been jailed for eight years after he was convicted of raping a University of Essex student.

Sultan Mohammed of Almond Way (pictured) was found guilty of entering the student's room whilst she slept and raping her.

The victim described how she went to sleep one night last October and woke up sometime between 4.45am and 6am feeling very confused to find a man she didn't know on top of her having sex.

The man claimed his name was Michael and that they had met that evening.

The victim pushed the man away from her, telling him that she had never seen him before and tried to get a photo of him.

The man left the very distraught victim telling her to 'sort yourself out'.

CCTV footage showed Muhammed, who was not a student at the University, enter the halls of residence via an insecure door around 5am, bypassing another door which was open.

Other CCTV footage also showed him attempting to gain access to several other buildings across the Colchester campus.

The footage and a handprint left on at a campus window lead offices to Mohammed and he was arrested and later charged with rape.

Sultan Mohammed denied the allegation, claiming the victim had invited him into her room and that sex was consensual, however jurors found him guilty of the offence within an hour of deliberations.   

In her victim impact statement read in court, the victim described the devastating impact the attack has had on her life including her relationships with other people:

"I feel emotionally distant from people … I don't have any close friends as I feel awkward around others now. "

She continued to explain that the incident had "affected her studies to a detrimental effect" and that she has gone from being a "super organised person to irrational".

She also described how she relives the incident any time she goes on a social outing: "When I go out and have fun, it brings back memories of that night out and how it ended up so bad.

"I should be here enjoying myself and making new friends, but this has not happened. I feel socially anxious now."

Investigating officer DC Adam Tyhurst said: "This was a predatory attack on a woman whilst she slept in her room and it has understandably had a devastating effect on her life.  

"I'd like to commend her on the strength and courage she has shown throughout the investigation, standing strong to ensure Sultan Mohammed was held accountable for what he did.

"Whilst incidents like this are rare, we understand the impact they have on the local community.

"It was through the support of the victim and working alongside the University and the Crown Prosecution Service, that we were able to quickly find the person responsible for this awful crime and bring him to justice.

"I urge anyone who has been the victim of crime to make a report it to us so that we can investigate the crime.

"We treat all reports with the sensitivity and confidentially they require."