Melton man convicted of sexually assaulting two women in the town

Krystian Surmaj, of Drummond Walk had been charged with the first assault following an incident on Welby Lane on 1 January this year and he appeared at magistrates’ court.

But while on conditional bail from court, awaiting his next hearing, Surmaj committed the second attack on January 16, sexually assaulting a woman in Elmhurst Avenue.

Following police enquiries, he was charged with a second sexual assault offence and remanded into custody.

Today (Thursday), at Leicester Crown Court, following a trial, the defendant was found guilty of both offences.

He has been remanded into custody and is due to be sentenced on Thursday October 28.

Officer in the case, Det Con Natalie Atchison, said: “Surmaj carried out these attacks within weeks of each other.

“Thanks to the bravery of the victims who reported the incidents to us and fully co-operated with us, we were able to carry out extensive enquiries to find the person responsible and to bring him before the courts.

“We encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to speak with someone you can trust and to report it to us.

“We will investigate and we will ensure advice and support is made available to you.”

The court heard police had received a report on New Year’s Day that a woman had been walking along Welby Lane during the afternoon when she passed Surmaj standing in the street.

The woman then felt her hood being pulled backwards and turned around to see Surmaj, who then sexually assaulted her.

The victim started to scream and kicked the defendant which led to him running away.

The woman reported the incident to police and enquiries were carried out including speaking with the victim and witnesses and analysing CCTV.

This led to Surmaj being arrested and subsequently charged on January 10 with the offence.

On January 16, the court was told, police received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted while walking in the area of Elmhurst Avenue, during the evening.

The victim had become aware of the defendant in the area and believed he was following her.

A short while later, the defendant then grabbed her and sexually assaulted her.

The victim began to scream and struggle and tried to push him off which led to the defendant running off.

The incident was reported to police shortly after and enquiries carried out.

Support was provided to the victim by officers and at the Juniper Lodge sexual assault referral centre.

CCTV and forensic enquiries led to Surmaj being identified as responsible for the attack and he was arrested.

This led to him being charged on January 21 this year.