A Peterborough man's jailed for a violent attack on a woman

The victim was found seriously injured in Church Walk in January

Author: Lynsey BagnallPublished 11th Oct 2024

A man who repeatedly punched and stamped on a woman in Peterborough city centre has been jailed for seven years.

Mohammed Beila, 22, was caught on CCTV and identified through a facial recognition system after leaving the woman with broken bones.

In the early hours of 6 January this year, the ambulance service received a call from a member of the public who had come across the seriously injured woman in Church Walk, off Broadway.

The woman, who is in her 30s, had significant injuries and was initially thought to be in a life-threatening condition.

She was taken to hospital where it was confirmed she had a broken collarbone and fractured eye socket.

Police reviewed CCTV footage in the area and spotted a man with the victim around the time of the assault.

An image from the footage was put through the Police National Database (PND) facial recognition system which came back as a match to Beila, who was arrested on 7 February.

Beila, of Eastfield Road, Eastfield, appeared at Cambridge Crown Court today (Friday) where he was sentenced to seven years in prison after previously pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.

He has also been made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Detective Constable Emily Richardson, who investigated, said:

“This was an horrific, violent and targeted attack on a woman who was left with serious injuries.

“Other than to confirm it was him in the CCTV footage, Beila gave no explanation and initially denied the offence, but due to the overwhelming evidence against him, he changed his plea on the first day of his trial".

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