Ashley Ellison: Sheffield woman fears attacker could strike again as he prepares to leave jail this month
A woman physically and sexually assaulted in horror attacks - including one in which she was threatened with death - fears her abuser could strike again when he is released from prison.
Courageous Evie* has voiced her concerns knowing her attacker is due to be released in a matter of days.
Ashley Ellison was jailed for 34 months in March after admitting a string of offences including sexual assault and actual bodily harm.
After nine months behind bars, he is due to be released on December 30 and Evie is concerned for her own safety - and the safety of other women too.
Evie said: “I feel like Ashley will attack someone when he gets out because he’s proven he has no intention of changing over the years.
"I feel as though he preys on vulnerable women and he doesn’t see any wrongdoing in his actions, in my opinion.
“He truly believes he is the victim in the whole situation because he is the one sat in prison. He won’t look at what he’s done and because of this, I feel he is extremely unlikely to change.”
Describing her reaction when she learned Ellison, aged 35, is set to be released, Evie continued: “I thought ‘no’.
“That was the first thought in my head, literally just the word ‘no’. I'm only just starting to get back to trying to sort things out.
“I'm just starting to piece things back together slowly.
“I need to know where he is. I don't want him anywhere near me or anywhere I could possibly be.”
Ellison is also the subject of a seven-year restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting Evie, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity.
But she is concerned he may not stick to it, given previous breaches of court orders.
Sentencing him in March, Judge Peter Hampton said: “Only a custodial sentence can be justified…there’s no realistic prospect of rehabilitation, given previous breaches of court orders like restraining orders.”
The judge also said Ellison posed “a high risk of re-offending.”
During the same hearing, Ellison’s barrister, Amy Earnshaw, suggested “alcohol may have been a trigger” for his offending, and said he was using that, along with cannabis, to “self-medicate.”
Ellison is set to be released the day before New Year’s Eve - one of the biggest days of the year for revelry - which has compounded Evie‘s concerns.
When asked about the safeguards in place to protect victims of crime after an offender’s release, a South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Our Integrated Offender Management Teams work across South Yorkshire, playing a pivotal role in working with newly-released prisoners and those released on licence to reduce the risk of re-offending, manage potentially harmful behaviour to our communities, and ensure the delivery of justice to victims of crime.
“We work alongside the probation service and other key partners to manage high and medium risk offenders linked to a range of offences, including domestic abuse. It is the aim of those in the IOM team to reduce reoffending by addressing the pathways to offending, reducing threat, harm and risk and also gathering intelligence.”
When he was sentenced, Sheffield Crown Court heard how Ellison, formerly of Stannington, had a criminal record of 13 previous offences, including three counts of battery and one count of assault by beating.
Three years earlier, in March 2022, he was arrested over the death of his girlfriend after he found her body.
He was released without charge.
The arrest was referenced when he was sentenced for attacking Evie.
His barrister, Amy Earnshaw, said: “There was an investigation in relation to that, and he was arrested. Nothing came of it, but he was unable to grieve at the loss of his long-term partner because this was hanging over him. He didn’t know what was happening for a year-and-a-half, during that time his family got death threats.
“He didn’t leave his property for fear of being attacked.”
Evie described how the terrifying attack carried out by Ellison only came to a stop when a woman living nearby came out of her property to intervene.
Judge Hampton told Ellison during his sentencing hearing on March 12, 2025: “You only stopped when neighbours intervened when they heard you being threatening, saying you were going to murder her.”
Ellison was also sentenced for sexually assaulting Evie.
“You were told ‘no’ several times and you persisted,” Judge Hampton told Ellison when he sentenced him.
Jailing him, the judge said: “Your behaviour is indicative of someone with a misogynistic and entitled attitude.”
In the months after Ellison physically and sexually assaulted her, Evie said she hit “rock bottom.”
She had started putting the pieces of her life back together when she was told her attacker would soon be released from prison.
Speaking out for the first time, Evie revealed how she felt she had no choice but to move home in the months after she went to police, after associates close to Ashley attended at her address several times between September and December last year, and left notes with her neighbours.
Evie refused to answer the door.
“I thought they wanted to come to my door to try and pressure me to drop charges to be honest. So, I didn't answer. I just rang the police anytime they came,” she said.
“Not only were they coming to mine, they were going to my neighbours. They were posting notes through my neighbours’ doors.”
It was at this point that Evie felt it was necessary to leave her home, and the area, ending in temporary accommodation miles away, taking her away from her support network, and leaving her completely isolated.
She was without a permanent home for some time, and in the intervening months, she could not afford to hire a storage unit. This led to her being forced to give up, or give away, most of her belongings.
“This probably had a bigger effect on me than anything because I feel like I lost everything, because they wouldn't stop coming to my flat,” said Evie.
She continued: “I couldn't afford to get a storage unit so I had to get rid of my big DFS sofa, my bed, my microwave, my oven, my washing machine… like everything.”
“I abandoned half if not most of my clothes and just thought I'm gonna start from scratch. I left everything, even my hoover. I know they're like little things to people but…I didn't start with having really nice things and a nice sofa and a nice bed. I started from scratch with absolutely nothing.
“I feel like he's taken not only my belongings, but he's taken me.
“I had like a sparkle about myself that I knew that everybody would pick up on things like that. And then he kind of took that [away], to the point where...I'm just sat in the bedroom all the time. In my bed.
“I’m guarded and I'm a lot angrier than what I was last year. I've always had a bit of a little fiery side anyway. But I'm just angrier. I haven't really got time for people.”
Evie said losing most of her belongings “crushed her the most” and sent her on a “really terrible downward spiral with my mental health.”
It led to Evie hitting “rock bottom,” leading to her self-harming and attempting suicide.
The difficult months at the end of last year cast a shadow over last Christmas for Evie, as she found herself without a permanent home, and having chicken soup noodles for her Christmas dinner.
Despite the progress Evie has made in the months that have followed, the ordeal arising out of Ellison’s offences now looks set to loom large over this year’s festive period too.
Mitigating during Ellison’s sentencing hearing, Ms Earnshaw said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder afterwards but had stopped taking prescribed medication for his mental health difficulties; and had instead opted to self-medicate with alcohol and cannabis.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “This was an appalling crime and our thoughts remain with the victim.
"Ashley Ellison is coming to the end of the prison term of the sentence handed down by the judge but will remain on licence, subject to strict conditions and probation supervision. If he breaks the rules he faces return to prison."
The South Yorkshire Police spokesperson continued: “We also have a dedicated MOSOVO (Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders) unit comprising specially trained officers who manage registered sex offenders and high-risk violent offenders. They work collaboratively with key agencies and carry out detailed risk assessments to protect the public, handle breaches and prevent reoffending, while also working within the strategies of our Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) campaigns.
“Those working within our ViSOR (Violent and Sexual Offenders' Register) teams are also specially trained to manage the risk of sexual offenders upon their reintegration back into society. Each offender is assigned a dedicated offender manager responsible for engaging with the individual, as well as monitoring and enforcing sex offender notification requirements and court orders, such as a Sexual Harm Prevention Order or Sexual Risk Order.
“Offender managers also carry out disclosures to vulnerable people associated with offenders, as well as organisations which an offender may be associated with, to protect the public.”
In addition to his custodial sentence, Ellison was also ordered to remain on the sex offenders’ register for seven years, a requirement which is due to expire in March 2032.
*Not her real name.