Former Crawley Town striker jailed for sexually assaulting woman

Guy Madjo, who played for Reds between June 2007 and January 2008, was jailed for three and a half years in his absence at Winchester Crown Court.

The Cameroonian footballer denied sexually assaulting the woman at his home in Grayshott, Hampshire, in August 2014, but was found guilty by a jury.

The 31-year-old did not attend the trial, and a previous hearing was told he was in west Africa.

A warrant for his arrest was issued by the court in May 2015, but a decision to go ahead with the trial was taken when he failed to return to the country.

Rebecca Austin, prosecuting, said the victim had been drinking in her local pub the previous evening, but returned to her flat to find she had been locked out by her partner.

The court heard that she then got her hand stuck in a letter box but Madjo, who lived nearby, came to her aid and helped to remove her hand.

He invited her to stay for the night on his sofa in the home where he lived with his wife, who was there at the time, and she accepted.

Miss Austin said the woman, who described herself as ‘tipsy’, fell asleep on the sofa but awoke to find herself being assaulted by the defendant.

She said: “She immediately got up and immediately left. Mr Madjo tried to follow her and tried to encourage her to come back to his flat and got her by the arm.

“She left, walked away and called the police - she said she was being followed by him. She ran away from Mr Madjo, she fell and then she hid behind a car. She was found by a neighbour.”

Miss Austin said Madjo was later arrested and added: “He denied that the offence took place, he denied that he touched her sexually at all, he continues to deny that to this day.”

Striker Madjo scored 11 goals in 18 appearances for Crawley before Shrewsbury Town paid Reds £20,000 for his services.

He has previously played for the Cameroonian under-23 national team and has appeared for several English clubs.

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