Man found guilty in absentia of Colchester sexual assault
Arjun Rajan was found guilty by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court
A man has been found guilty of committing a sexual assault after attacking a woman in Colchester.
Arjun Rajan, from Affleck Road in Colchester, was convicted by a jury in absentia at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday (October 7th).
The incident took place in the early hours of July 24th, 2022 as Rajan had been spotted walking to Head Street.
After being seen walking from his car at around 12:30am, he found his victim - a 33-year-old woman as she walked to get a taxi home.
He eventually offered her a lift home, to which she agreed as she believed he was a taxi driver himself. It was here when the sexual assault took place as the car was driven towards her home address.
The woman eventually told Rajan to stop the car and she got out to walk the rest of the journey home following the incident. She would go on to tell her loved ones what happened and eventually called Essex Police a short time later.
Arjun Rajan was tracked down and arrested at 7pm the following day. He was later charged with sexual assault and first appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on the 14th of July 2023.
After a lengthy trial, a jury found Arjun guilty of the assault; however, he has since gone on the run and a warrant is now out for his arrest. He will be sentenced in absentia on November 5th.
Speaking on the impact it had on her, the victim said: "After the assault, I shut myself away from the world. I was too afraid to leave my house, terrified that he might find me or approach me it. I kept what happened a secret from most people in my life.
“For over three years, this has weighed on me and my family. I cannot decide what happens next, that is for the court and judge.
“But I can say this: I fought through fear, shame, and heartbreak not because I wanted to, but because I had to for my daughter, for my family, and for every survivor who feels voiceless.
“I will not let what happened to me define who I am. It is a part of my story, but not the end of it. I choose to keep fighting, to love more, and to rebuild the parts of myself that were broken.”