A 39-year-old man has been choked out by a kickboxer who he pounced on and attempted to sexually assault.
The unnamed woman was heralded by the presiding judge for apprehending the pervert, Mark Willis who pleaded guilty to the charges.
According to The Telegraph the kickboxer in Cheltenham, England, who used her martial arts skills to throttle a sex attacker received a token of £500 (about $778)for her bravery.
It was gathered that Willis attempted to assault the woman as she was on a walk at 2 a.m but ‘bit off more than he could chew as the woman, who has been taking kickboxing for two years and is also well-versed in self-defense, put him in an arm lock and further put him in a scissor lock and choked him until he passed out.
The Gloucester Crown Court heard how Willis repeatedly punched the woman before jumping on top of her with a strict warning to remain quiet and do as he said or get hurt in the process.
However, things turned awry for Willis who was oblivious that he was actually toying with fire.
The kickboxer said, “The intention is to send the elbow in the wrong direction and cause extreme pain or a break,” the woman said. “I was not able to do that. I think he figured out what I was trying to do because he managed to wriggle free and he hit me again repeatedly in the face.
“I was stunned for a moment. Again I could feel him grabbing between my legs and pulling at my clothes. My legs were still free so I lifted my left leg up onto his shoulder and around the back of his neck. I crossed my right leg over and squeezed together as hard as I could.
“He seemed to struggle for air – which was the point! His head was locked down. He lifted his right hand and literally pounded as hard as he could on the side of my face.
“I closed my eyes and held it for as long as I could hoping he would pass out in a few seconds. Then I felt his body go limp. I thought he had lost consciousness or run out of air. I flipped him off, rolled over and crawled through the bushes to the door of the house. I could hear footsteps as he ran away and then a car starting.”
Although Willis ran away, DNA found on the woman’s pants led to his arrest and he admitted assaulting the woman causing actual bodily harm but denied sexual assault.
He claimed he had confronted the woman because he saw her take a photo of him on her mobile phone when he was urinating in a driveway.
The judge presiding said it was “remarkable” in the current case that the woman fought back so effectively.
He said, “He bit off slightly more than he could chew with this young lady.
“Not everyone could do what she did and not everyone could even sensibly try to do what she did.
“But I have no doubt whatever that if she had not done what she did she would have suffered a considerably graver ordeal than she did – and the defendant would be facing a more serious charge than the one you have convicted him of.
“She deserves everyone’s commendation for the way she has dealt with this and she certainly gets the highest commendation from me.
“I am going to ask the High Sheriff to pay her a reward of £500 because I think she has to be singled out in some modest way by the court. Five hundred pounds is a tiny token of the court’s appreciation of what she has done to bring about the apprehension of Mr Willis. It is just a mark of the court’s gratitude.”
After the hearing, the relieved woman said, “I feel relieved it is all over and that he has been convicted. I was stunned by the judge giving me a reward – I didn’t do it for any kind of recognition or reward because my motivation was just survival at the time but I appreciate it – it is very flattering and very humbling.”
