Man who sexually assaulted jogger while disguised as a woman jailed

A man who disguised himself as a woman before stalking and sexually assaulting a stranger in the street has been jailed. 31-year-old Mark Brown was sentenced to five-and-a-half years imprisonment and an extended three years on licence at Wood Green Crown Court on Thursday, 17th December.

On the 20th September 2019, the victim, in her late teens jogged past Brown's house shortly before 4am. own spotted the victim go by and, wearing a dress and leather jacket, he dashed out of his flat in a mad rush to catch her – putting on a long silver wig as he ran. He caught up with the victim after following her for about 500m.

Mark Brown ran out of his flat after seeing the teenager jog past his house Credit: Credit: Metropolitan police

The victim was unaware of anyone following her until Brown placed his hand on her shoulder. Before she had a chance to turn around to see who it was, she was sexually assaulted. She tried to push him away and shouted at her attacker, but she was pushed to the floor. She continued kicking and screaming but she had her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, the suspect had fled and she only saw them running off in the distance, noticing they had long silver hair.

The victim immediately called the police and was supported by specialist officers.

Officers found chilling CCTV footage showing Brown sprint from his home address after the victim, before undeniably following her – staying a few feet behind her until the attack. The footage also showed Brown without the wig on.

Brown was arrested and charged on 5 October 2019. During his police interview, he was shown the CCTV footage and a still of him without the wig on – but he denied it was him and said he believed it was a woman. When asked about the wig, Brown initially responded with ‘no comment,’ before telling officers that he had bought it for a fancy dress party but he ‘threw it out ages ago.’

Mark Brown told officers he'd bought the wig for a fancy dress party but he ‘threw it out ages ago.’ Credit: Credit: Metropolitan police

The court heard that Brown has previously been convicted of seven counts of sexual touching and is on the Sex Offender’s Register. Brown breached his licence conditions of not being allowed out between 22:00hrs and 08:00hrs.