Joginder Singh, 44, from Manchester, subjected an 83-year old woman to a horrific sex ordeal in January 2015
A serial sex attacker, who avoided prison by ‘fooling’ doctors into thinking he was mentally ill, has been jailed for nine years after a judge said he was a ‘threat to womankind’.
Joginder Singh, 44, from Manchester, subjected an 83-year old woman to a horrific sex ordeal in January 2015.
But he was excused court and sent to a psychiatric hospital after he convinced medics he had a ‘schizoaffective disorder’.
Singh had 23 convictions for violence, including seven offences on women.
But instead of being incarcerated alongside paedophiles and rapists, he underwent up to two years of psychiatric treatment in which he continued to fake mental illness until the doctors realised he had been making it up.
After finally being jailed at Manchester Crown Court last week, Judge Martin Steiger QC said: ‘The lady has been left deeply stressed and upset by this incident. The defendant has no fewer than 23 convictions for violence and seven separate offences on females on his record.
‘Whether mentally ill or not he is a disturbed individual and doctors have been fooled about his mental health.
‘This defendant was carefully and skilfully pretending that he was mentally ill and gave a very convincing impression to doctors.
‘I am urged to avoid the conclusion that the defendant is a serious risk to the public.
‘But, anyone who read the two reports can not be in any debate that the defendant is a continuing threat to woman kind.’
The court heard the old lady was grabbed after Singh bluffed his way into her home in South Manchester by asking if he could use her phone to book a taxi.
Once inside the property he dragged her upstairs into her own bedroom where he repeatedly forced himself on her – even asking her to make him a cup of tea afterwards.
The petrified woman was trapped in her house for over three hours with Singh and only broke free after convincing him to let her walk the dogs. She then knocked on a friend’s front door and police were alerted.
Prosecuting, Justin Hayhoe said of the victim’s ordeal: ‘He was physically bigger and stronger than her and he used his body weight to man-handle her. She did try and fight him off.
‘She thought she was going to die but he said all he was doing was getting her to be nice. At this point she began to fear she would be raped first and continued to push him off. She shouted for her dogs in the hope they would stop the attack.
CCTV of Joginder Singh loitering around the area before he struck
‘She was terrified and scared, her mouth went dry and she struggled to speak let alone scream for help. He pushed her up against the wall and she began to struggle to breathe. She thought she was going to pass out – she was petrified.
‘They struggled for a further 15 minutes and in the force of grabbing her he caused her trousers to rip. It was at that point that he pushed her and she was subjected to a horrific and degrading sexual attack.
‘Afterwards the two went downstairs and his mood changed and he became calmer saying he just wanted to be her friend. He even wanted a cup of tea first.
‘She left the house hand and he followed her and as they walked round the nearby park someone she knew was in the park and had seen what was going on and went to the police.
‘A good three hours later they were still together but when they got to the front door of the a friend’s house she ran into the property and away from the defendant. He left the area after shouting through the letter box: ‘I didn’t do anything.’
In a victim impact statement the woman now 86, said: ‘Before the incident she said: ‘I would quite happily go out at night but since the incident I no longer go outside at night because I am scared to. It has knocked my confidence so much.’
‘On one occasion I was outside my house where I would regularly feed cats and saw a man walking towards me and it frightened the life out of me. I feel annoyed that I had let him into my home and it has caused me a lot of stress.
‘My family are pressurising me to move out because he now knows where I live. I also suffers from pain from where I was dragged – pain I didn’t have before the incident.’
Singh was initially the subject of a ‘trial by facts’ form false imprisonment and sexual assault in November 2015 in which he was sentenced in his absence to a hospital order under the mental Heath Act. When his lies were unmasked, he formally pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
In mitigation defence counsel Saul Brody said: ‘I don’t seek to minimize the effect of this offence but the complainant’s injuries were not of great seriousness.
‘Whilst this was a significant ordeal there was no weapon or any lasting permanent injuries and there is limited indication of psychological impact.
‘The defendant on two occasions had been invited into the property and called a taxi and on these two occasions that is what he did. He didn’t do anything unlawful whilst he was there.
‘He entered the property on this occasion under the same basis so it remains a distinct possibility that he may have committed this offence on impulse.
‘He said he did make a phone call and there is some issue about whether this was premeditated.’