A man who assaulted a woman and attempted to sexually assault her has been jailed.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday Juan Martin Comba Valdez was convicted and sentenced to 18-months in prison for the attack, which took place in Morrison Street during the early morning of Sunday 12th May.
Following a night out with friends, a 19-year-old woman was making her way home when Valdez grabbed her and attempted to indecently assault her.
A struggle ensued and the woman was able to him off, before the 21-year-old ran off towards Lothian Road.
Officers from Edinburgh’s Public Protection Unit conducted a thorough investigation into this incident and Valdez was arrested and charged on Monday 20th May.
Detective Constable Andrew Martin from the PPU said: “From the inquiries we carried out, it appears that Juan Valdez was loitering within the Morrison Street area with the intention of targeting someone.
“He did not know his victim and he subjected her to a very frightening ordeal. Thankfully, however, she was able to bravely fight him off and prevent a more serious assault from taking place.
“I’d like to thank this woman for her bravery, both during the incident, and then in her support of our investigation, which ultimately resulted in Valdez receiving a custodial sentence.
“We treat all reports of sexual crime with the utmost seriousness and will investigate any such offences robustly to identify perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
