A night porter who sexually assaulted a woman in her hotel room has had his sentence tripled following a government appeal.
Zeshan Akhtar, 39, was jailed in June for 11 months for pinning the woman’s arms above her head and biting her neck after entering her room at the upmarket Talbot Hotel in Oundle, Northamptonshire, while on duty.
They had attended a work Christmas party in January 2018, according to the Attorney General’s office.
A court heard the victim noticed him staring at her from the bar before the incident.
She returned to the hotel to sleep, while Akhtar started his shift. Five minutes after she got into bed, Akhtar came in without knocking and climbed onto the quilt laying over her.
The woman tried to push him away but he got off the bed and lifted the quilt, saying: ‘Show me what you’ve got.’
Prosecutor Mark Achurch said: ‘He was pinning her arms above her head and started to bite the left side of her neck.’
The woman told him to go away and began yelling for help, after which Akhtar moved off the bed and walked away, shouting out that he loved her.
He failed to answer bail and was arrested two months later trying to board a flight to Pakistan.
On June 24 this year, he was convicted of sexual assault and failing to surrender at Northampton Crown Court.
Following the sentence of 11 months’ jail, the Solicitor General, Lucy Frazer, referred the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
On Wednesday his sentence was found to be unduly lenient and was ramped up to 3 years and 1 month’s imprisonment.
After the hearing, Ms Frazer, who is the MP for South East Cambridgeshire, 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.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.