WILLIAM ALLAN AND SHOCKING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN YORK
A man named William Allan has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after committing a serious sexual assault and invasive voyeuristic acts in York.The victim, a woman, was subjected to a disturbing attack where Allan not only assaulted her sexually but also secretly took explicit photographs of her while she was unaware and sleeping.
The incident came to light during a trial at York Crown Court, where it was revealed that Allan, aged 27 and a resident of York, had engaged in criminal behavior shortly after being released from custody for a previous unrelated offence.
His prior conviction involved threatening to firebomb a man’s house containing his wife and family.
Despite his criminal history, Allan had denied both sexual assault and voyeurism charges, but the jury found him guilty after deliberation.
Following his conviction, the court took immediate steps to restrict Allan’s contact with the victim.
Recorder Simon Jackson KC imposed a restraining order effective for ten years, banning Allan from any form of communication or contact with the woman.
Additionally, Allan was ordered to register as a sex offender for life, reflecting the seriousness of his misconduct.
The court’s findings detailed the events leading up to the assault.
It was established that on the night of May 1, 2021, Allan, along with the victim’s partner, had visited her residence after spending time drinking together at another location.
The victim described how she believed Allan and her partner had left for the night, which led her to go upstairs, where she fell asleep with her phone nearby.
However, the situation changed when Allan and the partner returned unexpectedly to the house shortly thereafter.
The men had brought with them some cocaine, which they proceeded to use inside the residence.
Unaware of their return, the victim continued to rest until she was disturbed.
Her partner testified that Allan had started using her phone and walking up and down the stairs, creating a tense atmosphere.
The partner then left the house, leaving Allan alone with the woman.
While alone, Allan advanced further into the woman’s privacy by ascending the stairs and taking photos of her while she was sleeping.
These images were of a sexual nature and included a visible injured fingernail, which served as key evidence during the investigation.
Allan also committed a sexual assault during this time.
Although he attempted to cover his tracks by deleting the photographs from her phone, the victim managed to find the images hours later in the phone’s deleted files.
She was able to identify Allan as the culprit due to the distinctive blackened fingernail visible in the pictures, which matched her knowledge of Allan’s injury at the time.
In his initial attempt to shift blame, Allan claimed that the partner had taken the photographs.
However, police investigations and photographs taken of the partner’s hand shortly after the incident disproved this claim, as the partner did not have a damaged fingernail, confirming Allan’s guilt.
The court also heard that Allan had a criminal history involving violence and previous offences, including an 18-month prison sentence a year prior for criminal damage and threats to damage another man’s house.
During that period, he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Despite his history, he has not previously been convicted of sexual offences.
This case underscores the severity of Allan’s actions and the ongoing efforts of the judicial system to protect victims and impose appropriate penalties on predators.
