‘I felt violated, angry and scared’ – York mother tells of horror at confronting burglar in her home

A York woman has told of the horror she felt after she came face-to-face with a criminal in her home while her daughter played upstairs.

Daniel Paul Khosa, 32, has been jailed for 14 months for burglary.

York Crown Court heard that shortly before 5pm on Saturday 26 June 2019, Khosa burgled a home on Fulford Road in York claiming that he thought it was a hotel.

He was caught after his quick-thinking victim took a photograph of him leaving her property in a vehicle which led detectives to him.

Khosa, of Kendal Drive, Halton, Leeds, maintained his innocence but changed his plea to guilty at the start of his trial at York Crown Court.

Anxious and vulnerable

In a statement his victim described how the ordeal left her feeling anxious and vulnerable. She said:

• It is hard to describe all the emotions that I went through when I saw the ‘alleged offender’ walking down the stairs.

  My first thought was for my eight year-old daughter who was playing on her own in her bedroom upstairs. I was anxious and scared.

  As he was walking down the stairs I was horrified about what he was going to do next as I felt incredibly vulnerable and was desperate for him to leave the house.

  My sense of relief after shutting the door behind him turned into sheer panic, when, just after taking the picture of the car he was driving, he came out of the car shouting and started banging on my front door.
  

The effects have been long lasting, she said. “Since the burglary I feel upset that my daughter had to experience this terrible episode.

“I feel that the privacy of our home has been violated and I’m really angry at the thought of him rummaging through our belongings and intimate possessions.

“As a family, we have become a lot more cautious and suspicious about people coming near our house.”

Truly terrifying

Commenting on the sentence, investigating officer PC Andrew Chapman of North Yorkshire Police’s expedite team said:

• Coming face to face with a burglar in her home was a truly terrifying experience for the victim, especially whilst her young daughter was just a short distance away playing in her bedroom.

  I’d like to praise the victim for her quick thinking actions which enabled us to promptly identify and locate Khosa and get him before the courts.
  

He said the sentence shows how serious the force is about pursuing burglars and bringing them to justice: “We work round the clock, 365 days a year to make sure that people like him don’t get away with crime, however much they continue maintain their innocence.

“Whilst I know it may take some time for the victims to feel safe in their home again I hope they will find some comfort in the fact that Khosa is now behind bars.”

Khosa appeared at York Crown Court on Wednesday 27 November 2019. His sentence is to run consecutively to a prison sentence he is already currently serving.