Oundle sex attacker has sentence tripled after appeal court judges rule original jail term was unduly lenient

Zeshan Akhtar had been due to be released next month
Zeshan Akhtar appeared at the Court of Appeal todayZeshan Akhtar appeared at the Court of Appeal today
Zeshan Akhtar appeared at the Court of Appeal today

An Oundle night porter who sneaked into a guest's room and sexually assaulted her has had his sentence increased by the Court of Appeal Judges after intervention by the Solicitor General.

Zeshan Akhtar, 39, walked into the woman's room after she had gone to bed and pjnned her hands to the bed while he bit her neck. She was able to fight him off but has been left 'an emotional wreck' by the incident, which happened in January 2018.

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Akhtar tried to flee to Pakistan after the incident at The Talbot in Oundle, where he had been working for a short time, and was caught at Heathrow and taken to Northampton Crown Court to face a trial.

Zeshan AkhtarZeshan Akhtar
Zeshan Akhtar

He pleaded guilty before the trial to sexual assault and to failing to surrender to the court.

In June he was sentenced by Recorder Graham Huston to ten months for the attack and a month, to be served consecutively, for failing to surrender. He had been due to be released in September.

But Solicitor General Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP referred the case to the court of appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and this morning (Wednesday, August 18) Akhtar, of Brookfurlong, Ravensthorpe, Peterborough, appeared by video link before Lord Justice Stephen Males, Mrs Justice Finola O'Farrell and Sir Roderick Evans.

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Counsel for the Attorney General, Jonathan Polnay, said that on the night in question, Akhtar had followed the victim to her hotel room and had gone into the room after she had undressed, before climbing on top of her with the covers between them, saying to her 'show me what you've got.'

He pinned her arms above her head.

Mr Polnay added: "He then bit her neck and attempted to kiss her on the lips."

The court heard he had shouted 'I love you' as he left the room, before trying to flee to Pakistan shortly before his trial had been due to take place.

He was eventually tracked down by police at Heathrow where he was about to board a flight to Pakistan.

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"The victim has been left an emotional wreck," said Mr Polnay.

"She still gets very emotional now and is on medication for anxiety and will be for the foreseeable future."

Mr Polnay compared the case broadly to an attack in someone's home and said it should have fallen into category 1a) of the sentencing guidelines.

He said that the victim's hotel room was classed as her 'personal space' and that she was entitled to be alone there without interruption.

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The starting point for a category 1a) offence would be four years, with a range of three to seven years.

The court was told that Akhtar had 19 previous convictions for 41 offences including robbery, burglary and assault.

Defending for Akhtar, Jonathan Rosen, said that his client's home had been burgled since he had been in prison and if his term was lengthened he would lose his accommodation. He also cited the wider effect on Akhtar's family.

He said: "This was not an assault of the greatest seriousness.

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"What actually happened was a relatively low level, short lived incident with some sexual touching over clothes and the actual assault consisted of a bite of kiss on the neck and an attempted kiss on the lips."

Handing down the court's decision, Lord Justice Males said that the judges accepted the case was not suitable for category one because a hotel room was not the same as a private home.

"We will accept that it has some, but not all, the features of a personal home, but not such as to take it into category one.

"The offender's job was to keep intruders out and ensure the safety of guests. He was trusted with keys and access to private areas of the hotel.

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"Mr Rosen submitted that the actual facts of the offence may not be the most serious form of sexual assault.

"We would entirely deprecate any submission that this was a low level incident. This was not, in any way, a minor or trivial assault.

"Indeed, if she had not resisted as she did we may be dealing with a much more serious offence."

Akhtar's original sentence was quashed and he was told he must now serve three years for the sexual assault as well as the month he received for failing to surrender.

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After the hearing at the Court of Appeal the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, said: “Akhtar abused his position as a night porter in a hotel to break into the victim’s room and sexually assault her. He then sought to escape justice by attempting to flee the country. I am glad the Court of Appeal saw fit to increase his sentence and I hope today’s decision offers some comfort to his victim.”