Harun Nasrullah
A judge has formally praised a Saudi Arabian student whose intervention stopped a violent attempted rape, leading to a nine-year prison sentence for the attacker.
Ian Hudson, 42, was jailed on November 13 at Newcastle Crown Court for eight offences, including attempted rape, sexual assault, and non-fatal strangulation. The attack occurred on the evening of December 30 last year in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland.
The victim was walking home when Hudson followed her, attacked her in a bus shelter, and throttled her while trying to remove her clothing. “I didn’t know there was evil out there like him but now I have seen evil, and it terrifies me,” the victim said in a court statement.
Hamzah Akbar, 23, witnessed the assault while walking to the shops. After his phone died during a 999 call, he confronted Hudson directly. “He knew what he had done was despicable and he was trying to run away from the consequences as urgently as he could,” Akbar said in a police interview. “Ultimately, I was not going to let that happen.”
Akbar chased Hudson, pinned him down despite being punched in the face, and flagged down passing drivers to call police. The victim later told Akbar she had been fighting Hudson off for several minutes “but was on the point of giving up” when he appeared. “That night I honestly believe he would’ve killed me if the witness hadn’t come along,” she stated.
Sentencing Hudson, Recorder David M Gordon commended Akbar’s “extraordinary courage and public-spiritedness,” noting he “intervened without hesitation to prevent the rape of the complainant who was in clear and immediate danger.”
Hudson, of no fixed address, was also convicted of assaulting officers. He will be on the sex offenders register for life and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order.
Detective Constable Hayley McIntosh said, “The offences which Ian Hudson inflicted on his victim were truly horrific.”
Feature photo: Hamzah Akbar, 23, a Saudi student in the UK who intervened to stop an attempted rape, has been praised for his extraordinary heroism and bravery by the judge, police, and members of the public. (Credit: Northumbria Police)
