Man, 22, suffering from hallucinations attempted to rape woman in terrifying attack – but she fought him off by BITING his tongue
Joshua Potts punched, dragged and sexually assaulted the woman before she managed to escape
A SEXUAL predator who attempted to brutally rape a university student as she walked to an evening lecture was only stopped when the victim bit his TONGUE.
Joshua Potts, 22, punched, dragged and sexually assaulted the woman before she managed to escape.
A court heard that Potts had carried out the horrific attack when he grabbed the victim in an alleyway near the University of Derby in January.
The woman, who is in her twenties, said the man had punched her in the eye and said: "I'm going to have sex with you."
Potts, from Derby, was found to have committed attempted rape, assault and sexual assault by a jury following a trial in July.
At the time, a judge concluded he was unfit to plead because he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and autism and suffered from "auditory hallucinations and disordered thoughts".
But instead of being asked to deliver a verdict, the jury were asked to determine simply whether or not he had committed the disgusting acts.
The jurors concluded that he had committed all three offences.
At Derby Crown Court on Friday, Judge Jonathan Bennett ordered that Potts be detained indefinitely in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
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He will only be released when it has been deemed safe to do so by professionals and approved by the Home Secretary.
The victim described how she and her attacker had struggled and she had fallen to the ground.
Potts then pulled her by the foot towards some bushes, and the woman recalled screaming before Potts kissed her and stuck his tongue in her mouth.
She said: "I thought if I hurt him, he might let go, so I bit his tongue has hard as I could and he screamed out and jumped backwards and I was able to stand up."
The woman told the interviewing officer that once she had got up, she walked quickly towards the university and her attacker had followed her, saying: "I'm sorry."
He had then walked off and the woman went straight to the security desk at the university to report the crime.
The woman was taken to hospital where she received treatment, and she also suffered scratches to her hands and stomach.
Terrifying footage captured by university cameras showed the woman walking with a man following close behind.
An officer said he recognised the man to be Potts, who had reported a crime to police a few days earlier, thanks to distinctive markings on his clothes - which were later recovered from his bedroom.
When Potts was arrested, bodycams worn by two of the officers recorded him saying: "I know what I have done and I am going to go to prison."
He also said he wished he was dead and blamed his crimes on drugs.
He added: "I know I was wrong. I want to apologise to the girl and the family and say I'm extremely sorry. There's consequences to actions made and I accept the consequences."
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