A night porter who tried to flee the country for a sex attack on a woman in her hotel bed has had his jail term increased.
Zeshan Akhtar, 39, was originally given an 11-month prison sentence for pinning his victims arms above her head before biting her neck when he was meant to be on duty.
The incident happened at the Talbot Hotel in Oundle, Northamptonshire, following a work Christmas party in January 2018.
The victim told the court that she saw him staring at her from the bar before the assault.
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 scheme.
On Wednesday his sentence was found to be unduly lenient and was increased to more than three years.
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.’
mtro
