A WEST Yorkshire man who sexually assaulted a woman in a town centre street has been jailed for 18 years.

Mario Sztojka, of Meltham Road, Huddersfield, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court last Thursday for the rape of a woman on Lower Viaduct Street in the early hours of the morning in 2021.

He was given a 12-year sentence with an extra six years on extended licence.

Sztojka had been found guilty of two counts of rape at Leeds Crown Court following a four-day trial in May.

The attack on the lone victim sparked a major investigation by the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team who identified the 26-year-old as a suspect in the days after the attack.

Continued enquiries led to the net closing on Sztojka who was eventually arrested in December 2021 and swiftly charged.

DCI Marc Bowes, of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team said: “Mario Sztojka is a dangerous and predatory sex offender.

“He did everything he could to evade justice for the serious sexual assault he inflicted on his victim.

“Despite strong evidence against him, he chose to put his victim through the ordeal of a trial and this has been reflected in the sentence imposed on him."