Vulnerable Woman Targeted Late at Night
Shoukkathali Kaniyarakkal, 42, a former employee at Mayfair’s elite Claridge’s hotel, has been locked up after sexually assaulting a woman outside Waterstones in Colchester. The victim, who appeared homeless and exhausted, was sitting on the steps at around 10pm on September 7 when Kaniyarakkal first approached her.
She told the court she wasn’t sure how long she’d been there, feeling tired and with “nowhere to go”.
Predator Returns, Assaults Woman
Kaniyarakkal initially asked if the woman was alright, then left. But he came back twice more, asking where she lived. When she said “nowhere”, he grabbed her wrist and promised to “look after her.”
Though worried, the woman wondered if he was “trying to be nice”. That hope was shattered when Kaniyarakkal wrapped his arms around her and kissed her without consent. The victim was “in disbelief” as he groped her over her clothes, pinching her nipple and rubbing her intimate areas.
She finally pushed him away and fled to a nearby restaurant for help.
Repeat Offender Sentenced and Faces Deportation
Kaniyarakkal, from Hesper Road, Colchester, is already subject to a deportation order after serving eight months for a similar sexual assault in February last year, committed while working at Claridge’s.
At Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge David Pugh made it clear Kaniyarakkal had deliberately targeted a vulnerable woman. He sentenced him to 10 months in prison, warning the offender will serve half his term inside before 12 months on licence.
Kaniyarakkal will also remain on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
