Sex assault foiled by kickboxer victim holding attacker in headlock

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-34179920

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A sex attacker who was pinned in a headlock by a victim who was a kickboxer has been jailed.

Mark Willis, 40, of Pirton Lane, Gloucester, punched the 25-year-old woman several times in the face and tried to remove her clothes during the assault in Cheltenham last August.

But she held him in a headlock between her legs until he "went limp".

He was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Bristol Crown after being convicted of a single charge of sexual assault.

The defendant had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of causing actual bodily harm.

The woman, who cannot be identified, said: "I'm extremely pleased that this traumatic ordeal is finally over and that I can move forward with life."

Det Con Faye Satchwell-Bennett said: "There's little doubt in anybody's mind that without her martial arts skills the attack could have been far worse.

"Mr Willis clearly poses significant risk to the public, also having a previous conviction for a similar kidnapping offence against a female."

Willis was given the jail sentence with an additional four years on licence and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register.