Melton man jailed for 13 years for sex assaults on two women

Krystian Surmaj, of Drummond Walk, was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court after previously being found guilty of both offences at a trial at the same court in September.

Surmaj carried out both attacks in January this year, assaulting the second victim while on bail following being charged with the first offence.

On the afternoon of New Year’s Day, police had received a report that a woman had been walking along Welby Lane when she passed Surmaj standing in the street.

She then felt her hood being pulled backwards and turned around to see the defendant, who then sexually assaulted her.

The victim started to scream and kicked Surmaj which caused him to run away.

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

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

Surmaj was out on conditional bail after appearing before magistrates when he was implicated in a second sexual assault.

This incident happened on the evening of January 16 when a woman was attacked while she walked in the Elmhurst Avenue area of Melton.

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

A short while later, Surmaj 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.

CCTV and forensic enquiries led to Surmaj being identified as responsible for this attack as well and he was charged on January 21.

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

After his conviction in court, the 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.”