Locations
Rosebery Street, Leicester, LE5
Description
Key CCTV footage has led to a convicted sex offender being jailed for more than seven years.
Cameras tracked Emil Emilov’s movements through Leicester city centre moments after he sexually assaulted a woman on the morning of Sunday 28 May last year.
The incident happened shortly after 5am as the victim – a 19-year-old woman – made her way home from working in a bar. Twenty-five-year-old Emilov approached her in New Walk and dragged her into a bush, where he gagged and sexually assaulted her.
He ran from the scene when a group of people walked past. The victim reported the incident to police and an investigation, led by the force’s Signal team, began.
CCTV of the area was examined that showed Emilov running from the scene, eventually making his way back to his home in Rosebery Street in North Evington. Footage also showed him discard the cloth he had used to gag the victim.
Further enquiries revealed that Emilov – a Bulgarian national – had left the UK. He returned on 6 November and was immediately arrested on his arrival at Luton Airport. A DNA sample taken from him matched those found on the cloth and the victim’s tights.
In December last year, he pleaded guilty to one count of assault by penetration.
Yesterday (Thursday 18 April), he was sentenced to 88 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court and was also placed on the sex offender register for life.