Man jailed after Strangling woman in Stevenage
Joshua Taylor, who's 32 and from Letchworth, took the victim to a hotel and attacked her with a mobile phone charger
A man's been sent to prison for strangling a woman he had only just met in Stevenage.
Joshua Taylor, 32, from Letchworth, was sentenced to 12 years in prison at St Albans Crown Court for a series of violent offenses, including the attempted strangulation of a woman he had just met.
The incident occurred just two days after Taylor's release from prison.
Taylor was found guilty of strangulation, false imprisonment, actual bodily harm (ABH), and two counts of assault on police officers following a five-day trial in October last year.
According to court proceedings, Taylor met the woman at a pub in Stevenage on July 30, 2022. After sharing a taxi, Taylor insisted she accompany him to his hotel room at the Holiday Inn on St Georges Way.
Detective Constable Pippa Mason said: "As soon as they reached his room, Taylor became aggressive, physically assaulting the woman and causing her to fear for her life. When she tried to escape, he pulled her by her hair and put a mobile phone charger around her neck, so she was unable to breathe.”
The woman eventually managed to escape by putting her fingers between the charger and her neck. She found help from hotel staff after fleeing into a lift. DC Mason added, “He punched the victim repeatedly in the face, leaving her with severe injuries to her eyes and bruises, most notably on her neck, resulting in ABH injuries.”
When arrested, Taylor resisted violently, punching an officer in the face and biting two others. He was restrained by three officers at the hotel.
Taylor had previously served a prison sentence in Plymouth in 2021 for assaulting another woman who also feared for her life. He was released from that sentence on July 28, 2022.
DC Mason noted, “Taylor could easily have killed the woman he had just met. Fortunately, she was able to escape and get help. This was a terrifying ordeal for the woman, who received serious injuries to her neck and eyes. The impact has been devastating, and she continues to suffer psychologically and from PTSD, prompting her to move house. She is relieved that Taylor has been put behind bars for a number of years.”
Recorder Stephen Lennard described Taylor as a "dangerous offender," emphasizing the high likelihood of re-offending and applying the extended sentence to protect women.