A man who broke into a home and sexually assaulted a pregnant sleeping woman at knifepoint has been jailed for more than 14 years.

Aryan Rashidi, 20, of no fixed address, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to committing a serious sexual offence in Wakefield in October 2016, as well as trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He was sentenced to 14 years and seven months.

Police were called to a house near Wakefield city centre at 2am on October 5, after it was reported a woman had been sexually assaulted by a man who had climbed into her house through an open window.

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The incident followed an earlier offence on September 14 in Bradford in which Rashidi broke into a property and awoke a sleeping woman by tugging at her clothing, before fleeing when her husband, who was sleeping alongside, her woke up.

DCI Sue Jenkinson, of Wakefield Police, said: “It is no exaggeration to say that Rashidi is a highly dangerous individual. His actions in breaking into a property and seriously sexually assaulting a pregnant woman while she slept were predatory in the extreme.

“He also clearly showed sexual intent towards the female victim in the offence in Bradford and his actions must have been terrifying to everyone concerned.”