Face of twisted sex offender who attempted to rape pensioner in violent Sheffield park attack
The 25-year-old walked away from court with a community sentence earlier this year for sexually assaulting paramedics called out to help him
This is the twisted man who bludgeoned an elderly woman, leaving her with facial fractures, in a savage attempt to rape her in a Sheffield park.
The elderly woman targeted by Ali Askre, who carried out the horrifying attempted rape dressed in a balaclava, gloves and dark clothing, bravely fought him off.
Handing Askre a 20-year sentence, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said had it not been for the elderly woman’s “immense courage” Askre would have succeeded in his attempt to rape her.
“To rape any woman is appalling. In this case, you sought to rape a woman aged 73 years.
“That was a grotesque crime. It is made worse by the fact you were extremely violent towards her, well beyond the violence inherent in the crime of rape...it was utterly terrifying,” Judge Richardson told Askre.
He added: “You were determined to rape her, you failed in that attempt due to her courage and determination that you would not be able to do as you wished...but not for her courage you would have done so.”
Sheffield Crown Court sentencing hearings held on October 2 and 5, 2026 heard how Askre struck at Concord Park in Shiregreen, Sheffield at around 7.30am.
Askre later told police he had never had sex, and had decided he would “f*** the first woman he saw.”
Prosecutor David Hall said Askre began the attack by pushing his elderly victim to the floor, before punching her face.
Mr Hall said Askre subsequently began trying to pull her trousers down, at which point she began “resisting” and attempting to fight him off as he was pulling at her clothes.
She told him: ‘I’m 73. What if this was your mum or your nan, what would you do?’”
Askre, of Torksey Road West, Shiregreen, Sheffield, ended the horrific attack a short time later.
The complainant suffered multiple facial injuries, including a fracture to her cheekbone and multiple fractures to her nose.
Judge Richardson continued: “This was a planned and premeditated. You were wearing a balaclava.”
The elderly woman Askre attacked courageously faced him in court to see his sentence passed down.
In a devastating statement read to the court, she said: “It was the worst day of my life…you’ve taken so much, not just from me, but from my friends and family.”
The victim, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity, described how Askre left her so bloodied that when a loved one saw her in the wake of the attack they believed she was dead.
Askre’s 20-year sentence is comprised of 12 years’ custody and an eight-year extended licence, due to the high risk of further sexual offending he is deemed to pose to the public.
He admitted charges of attempted rape and grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing.
The court heard how at the time of the horrific attack on the complainant Askre was a short way into a community sentence, passed down for sexual assaults and violence inflicted on paramedics and hospital staff, respectively.
Judge Richardson re-sentenced Askre for those offences, handing him a six-month sentence - to run concurrently - for crimes including five counts of sexual assault, two counts of common assault and racially-aggravated harassment.
He said he had taken Askre’s emerging mental health issues, seemingly stemming from a difficult start to life in his home country of Afghanistan into consideration when reaching the correct level of sentence.