A PREDATOR who sexually assaulted a university student after trespassing into a room where she was asleep has been found guilty of rape.

Sultan Mohammed, 25, targeted the student on October 3 last year during the university’s Freshers’ period.

Shortly after 5am he entered a block of student halls via an insecure door before bypassing another security door which had been wedged open. He then entered the room where the victim was asleep.

The first time the victim had ever seen Mohammed was when she awoke to find him on top of her having sex with her.

She pushed him away and tried to take a picture of him but he escaped.

After leaving the building, Mohammed was spotted on CCTV trying to gain entry to several other buildings across the Colchester campus.

Police eventually searched his home address in Almond Way, Colchester, after discovering a handprint on a window on campus.

Mohammed was interviewed at Colchester Police Station before being charged with rape.

READ MORE: Sultan Mohammed on trial for rape at University of Essex

Whilst giving evidence during a five day trial at Ipswich Crown Court, Mohammed claimed he had been invited inside the victim’s flat and the sex was consensual.

But a jury found Mohammed guilty of one count of rape after less than an hour of deliberations.

Judge David Pugh said: “I am going to sentence you on Wednesday, April 17, once the victim personal statement has been obtained.

“You will be remanded in custody until then. You are facing a length custodial sentence for this crime.”

Bryn Morris, registrar and secretary at the University of Essex, said: "This was a devastating incident which left our community in shock.

"Incidents of this kind are extremely rare and we give the highest priority to the safety and welfare of our students and work extremely hard to make the campus a safe and supportive environment.

“In response to this terrible incident we took urgent action to further enhance our security arrangements and took steps to make sure our campuses felt safer at night.

"We’ve worked closely with our Students’ Union to support our students in looking out for the safety and wellbeing of themselves and each other.

"Because we want to ensure that we can respond to student concerns quickly, we’ve reminded our student community of the support open to them through our 24-hour support helpline for students and staff. 

“We operate a zero tolerance policy on sexual violence, harassment and hate crime and have a dedicated Report and Support platform where staff, students and visitors can make a report either anonymously – or to receive support from an adviser.

“The University has taken substantial action as a result of this incident to further enhance the safety and security arrangements in place at each of our three campuses.”