Prowler, 25, crept into a university student’s bedroom and raped her as she slept after the halls of residence security door was left wedged open
- Sultan Mohammed, 25, is found guilty of raping a student while she slept in room
- He carried out the attack in student halls at the University of Essex in Colchester
- He managed to get inside the block through an unsecure door left wedged open
- Mohammed, of Colchester, is warned he faces a lengthy prison sentence
Sultan Mohammed (pictured) denied the attack on October 3 last year but has been found guilty
A prowler raped a university student in her bedroom whilst she slept during freshers’ week after sneaking into the halls of residence through a door left wedged open.
Sultan Mohammed, 25, attacked the woman just after 5am in her room at the Colchester campus of the University of Essex in October last year.
He managed to get into the block through an insecure door and attacked his victim as she slept, before she woke and pushed him off her.
She tried to take a picture of Mohammed before he fled from her room and then bravely filmed herself describing the shocking events which had just taken place.
The victim, who cannot be named, contacted a friend and campus security staff were alerted.
Mohammed’s finger prints were found on a window at the university and he was arrested and charged with rape.
He denied the attack on October 3 last year at the university’s Colchester campus but has been found guilty following a trial.
The jury at at Ipswich Crown Court took less than an hour to find him guilty.
Judge David Pugh said: ‘You are facing a lengthy custodial sentence for this crime’.
After the guilty verdict Bryn Morris, the university’s registrar, said steps had now been taken to improve security.
Mohammed, 25, attacked the woman just after 5am in her room at the Colchester campus of the University of Essex in October last year
‘This was a devastating incident which left our community in shock.
‘Incidents of this kind are extremely rare and we give the highest priority to the safety and welfare of our students and work extremely hard to make the campus a safe and supportive environment.
‘In response to this terrible incident we took urgent action to further enhance our security arrangements and took steps to make sure our campuses felt safer at night.’
Prosecutor Andrew Thompson told the jury how Mohammed had been prowling around in the early hours of the morning and had ‘probably been looking for some sort of sexual encounter’.
Speaking of the moment of the attack he said: ‘The first she knew of the defendant was when she woke shortly after 5am that morning, seemingly from a deep sleep, to find a strange male on top of her in her own bed raping her.’
He said the woman, who cannot be named, was ‘shocked and confused’ and initially froze before pushing the man away.
She wasn’t able to see his face but could feel he had dreadlocks.
Mohammed tried to bluff his way out of the situation by claiming he had bought her a drink earlier in the evening.
After leaving the woman’s room Mohammed, who is not a student at the university, was then seen on CCTV trying other doors and windows on the campus.
Mohammed told police he had been to a nightclub on the university campus that night before climbing over a secure gate into student accommodation looking for a party.
He heard music and claimed he knocked on the alleged victim’s door, saying she invited him in, took off her clothes before instigating sex.
Mohammed, of Colchester, claimed he stopped having sex with the woman because he felt uncomfortable when she asked his name more than once.
He is due to be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday.
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