Night porter sneaked into guest’s hotel room and sexually assaulted her in bed

Ross McGuinness
Zeshan Akhtar. A night porter sneaked into a woman's room in a posh Northamptonshire hotel before climbing on top of her and biting her neck. See SWNS story SWMDperv. Zeshan Akhtar walked into the room at the four star Talbot Hotel in Oundle where he had been working and pinned the woman's arms above her head so he could carry out his assault. Northampton Crown Court heard that the woman had noticed Akhtar, 39, staring at her uncomfortably in the hotel bar that evening in early 2018. In the early hours, the woman had gone up to her room, got changed, and got into bed, but five minutes later she heard him come into the room and he climbed on the quilt on top of her. She tried to push him away but he got off the bed, lifted the quilt, saying 'Show me what you've got'. Akhtar had initially denied the incident and had been due to stand trial this April. But days before he was due in court he was arrested at Heathrow airport trying to board a plane to Pakistan.
Night porter Zeshan Akhtar was jailed for 11 months for sexually assaulting a hotel guest. (SWNS) (SWNS)

A night porter who sneaked into a guest’s hotel room to sexually assault her in bed has been jailed for 11 months.

Zeshan Akhtar, 39, pinned his victim’s arms above her head and bit her on the neck during the attack at the Talbot Hotel in Oundle, Northamptonshire.

Akhtar, of Ravensthorpe, Peterborough, later pleaded guilty to sexual assault and was jailed last Thursday at Northampton Crown Court.

He walked into the room at the four-star hotel where he had been working for only a week and attacked his victim.

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The court heard his victim had noticed Akhtar staring at her in the hotel bar before the attack.

He came into her room five minutes after she had got changed and got into bed, the court was told.

Akhtar climbed on top of her and when she tried to push him away he got off the bed and lifted the quilt, saying: “Show me what you’ve got.”

Google street view of the Talbot Hotel in Oundle. A night porter sneaked into a woman's room in a posh Northamptonshire hotel before climbing on top of her and biting her neck. See SWNS story SWMDperv. Zeshan Akhtar walked into the room at the four star Talbot Hotel in Oundle where he had been working and pinned the woman's arms above her head so he could carry out his assault. Northampton Crown Court heard that the woman had noticed Akhtar, 39, staring at her uncomfortably in the hotel bar that evening in early 2018. In the early hours, the woman had gone up to her room, got changed, and got into bed, but five minutes later she heard him come into the room and he climbed on the quilt on top of her. She tried to push him away but he got off the bed, lifted the quilt, saying 'Show me what you've got'. Akhtar had initially denied the incident and had been due to stand trial this April. But days before he was due in court he was arrested at Heathrow airport trying to board a plane to Pakistan.
Zeshan Akhtar carried out his attack at the Talbot Hotel in Oundle, Northamptonshire, where he worked. (SWNS) (SWNS)

Prosecutor Mark Achurch said: "He was pinning her arms above her head and started to bite the left side of her neck."

When the woman began yelling for help, Akhtar got off the bed and walked away, shouting that he loved her, the court heard.

He initially denied carrying out the sex attack and was caught at Heathrow Airport trying to board a plane to Pakistan just days before his trial.

Sentencing, Recorder Graham Huston said: "If you'd got on that plane to Pakistan you wouldn't have been in the country at the time the case was listed.

"It was a very frightening attack. She was completely shocked anyone could walk into her hotel room without knocking.

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"People who stay in hotels are entitled to feel safe and secure. Her personality and confidence have been affected.

"You have no insight into your behaviour and it's difficult to see any remorse on your part.

"This was a sexual attack on a vulnerable woman effectively trapped in her hotel room."

The court heard Akhtar had earlier been sent home from the hotel after his manager spotted him in the bar and believed he was drunk.

General view of the Northampton Crown and County Courts, in Northampton.
Zeshan Akhtar was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court to 11 months in prison. (PA) (PA)

In a victim personal statement, the woman described herself as "an emotional wreck" and said she is still suffering from anxiety three years on and is taking medication.

Reading her statement, the prosecutor told the court: "Before the incident she described herself as being funny, sociable and outgoing.

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"She was happy going out with other people and on her own.

"She's now more nervous about going out and finds it very difficult to trust people."

The court was told that Akhtar had 19 previous convictions for 41 offences, including battery, robbery and driving matters, but no previous sexual offences.

The court heard he was "deeply ashamed and apologetic" for what he had done.

Akhtar also claimed he was going to Pakistan "for a matter of days" to sort out his late father's legal matters and that he regretted not informing the court.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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