Indian guest house worker jailed for sex assaults on female guests in UK

An Indian guest house worker who pleaded guilty to sexual assault on two female guests in the north of England has been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.

John Guntipilli-Souriappan, 35, who worked at Avalon Guest House in Leeds, sexually assaulted one of his victims as she was asleep beside her husband in their room. A second victim was attacked during the same evening in December last year when she returned to the premises after a party.

"It was like something from the TV or films. It was the stuff of nightmares," one of the victims told the police on reporting the attack.

Guntipilli-Souriappan switched off the CCTV cameras at the premises in an attempt to carry out the attacks undetected, Leeds Crown Court was told during a sentencing hearing this week.

"You were able to use keys and turn off the CCTV system. To enter their rooms uninvited and subject them to the indignities that you did was, as one of the victims properly describes, the stuff of nightmares," Judge Andrew Stubbs said as he sentenced Guntipilli-Souriappan and told him that he would be put on the sex offender register for life.

The court was also told of his previous convictions for battery and breaching a restraining order.

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“The two victims in these incidents have been left understandably traumatised by what Guntipilli-Souriappan did to them,” said Detective Inspector James Entwistle from the Leeds District CID of West Yorkshire Police.

“They would have rightfully had an expectation of privacy and security in their rooms as guests at these premises but he completely abused his position of trust to commit these offences against them for his own gratification. We hope the fact he has now had to answer for his actions will help to provide some degree of comfort and reassurance to them and assist their recovery from what was clearly a very disturbing experience,” he said.

Guntipilli-Souriappan’s defence lawyer told the court that he committed the offence at a time when he was abusing alcohol and was having difficulties with his wife.

The court was also told that he had suffered religiously-aggravated assault in India, resulting in him and his family leaving for the UK. He now faces the prospect of trying to apply for asylum at the end of his prison term or would have to be deported back to India.

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