A sexual predator has received a 13 year sentence after putting a noose around a woman’s neck and dragging her away before a sexual assault.

Officers from West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team tracked down Ben Creek following the disturbing incident in Holbeck, Leeds, on May 5, 2022. 

The victim was attacked on a footpath that passes underneath the viaduct between Domestic Road and Cross Ingram Road, shortly after 9.15am.

He dragged her to a nearby grassed area, choking her with the noose, and pinned her to the ground.

The victim fought back and he was then disturbed by a passer-by before running off.

Creek was disguised in a black beanie hat, black face covering and a black coat with a fur-trimmed hood.

Detectives tracked his escape route from the scene of the attack. He initially headed south along the A643 before turning back up the A643 then along Gelderd Road onto Whitehall Road.

He was picked up on CCTV but only as a figure in the distance. He appeared to have taken a deliberately complicated route, and further extensive work had to be carried out to track his movements.

This paid off when detectives identified a CCTV camera on Dixon Lane that had captured good quality images of him walking by.

There was a huge response from the public when the CCTV images were posted to West Yorkshire Police's social media days later.

It led officers to 30-year-old Creek, of Britannia Road, Morley, being identified as the suspect.

He was arrested the same day and subsequently charged in relation to the incident on May 5, and a further incident on May 9 where he had exposed himself to a young girl.

He was initially charged with sexual assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and committing an offence with the intention of committing a relevant sexual offence, as well as exposure over the incident on May 9.

The charges for the May 5 incident were later updated at court to Section 21 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 - attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle any other person in order to commit any indictable offence, alongside the sexual assault charge.

He also admitted further counts of indecent exposure in court.

Creek, now 31, admitted the offences. He was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, May 19, to 13 years in an extended sentence. 

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Suzanne Hall said: “This was a very sinister and disturbing incident where a woman was brazenly attacked near a busy road during the morning rush hour.

“It was a terrifying experience for her, and we know it has left her understandably traumatised.

“Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team carried out extensive and painstaking CCTV enquiries to track Creek’s movements from the scene and this yielded good quality images of him. We had a huge response from the public to our appeal on social media, and we are really grateful to everyone who contacted us naming him.

“It was then established that just days after the attack, he had exposed himself.

“These offences show Creek to be a dangerous sexual predator and we hope it will give some degree of comfort to his victims and to the wider community to know that he is now behind bars.

“Women and girls should be safe to live their lives free from the fear of violence and harassment, and West Yorkshire Police’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy reinforces our commitment to increasing our focus, alongside our partner agencies, to make the county a safer place.

“Taking dangerous offenders like Creek off the streets will always remain a key part of our work to keep women and girls safe.”