Sex offender dragged his victim into a bush, gagging her, and sexually assaulting her.

Key CCTV footage leads to jail time for convicted sex offender

A convicted sex offender has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after CCTV footage tracked his movements through Leicester city centre following a sexual assault.

The incident occurred on the morning of Sunday 28 May last year, shortly after 5am, as the victim, a 19-year-old woman, was walking home from her job at a bar. Emil Emilov, 25, approached her in New Walk and dragged her into a bush, where he gagged and sexually assaulted her.

Emilov fled the scene when a group of people passed by. The victim reported the incident to the police, prompting an investigation led by the force's Signal team.

CCTV footage from the area revealed Emilov running from the scene, eventually making his way back to his home on Rosebery Street in North Evington. The footage also captured him discarding the cloth he had used to gag the victim.

Further investigation revealed that Emilov, a Bulgarian national, had left the UK. He returned on 6 November and was immediately arrested upon his arrival at Luton Airport. A DNA sample taken from him matched those found on the cloth and the victim's tights.

In December of last year, Emilov pleaded guilty to one count of assault by penetration. On Thursday, 18 April, he was sentenced to 88 months' imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court and was placed on the sex offender register for life.