X Factor star Lucy Spraggan’s rapist deported to India after serving four years behind bars for sick 2012 attack when he was a London hotel porter

• Predator Soby John was deported less than four years into his 10-year jail term 
• He raped X Factor hopeful Lucy Spraggan in 2012 while she was in a hotel room 
• The attack ruined her life and forced the singer-songwriter to quit the show early

The perverted hotel porter who raped X Factor star Lucy Spraggan in an attack so traumatising it forced her to quit the talent show early was quietly deported to India after serving less than half of his 10-year prison sentence, MailOnline can reveal. 

Spraggan was a 20-year-old contestant in the 2012 series of the hit ITV talent show when her life was ruined by sexual predator Soby John, who assaulted her in a luxury hotel room.  

Then aged 24, John used his staff key card to sneak into the singer-songwriter’s room at the Hilton London Metropole before raping her as she slept. The horrifying fallout of the attack forced her to pull out of the X Factor in week three.  

John, who had been on a student visa from India, was jailed for 10 years in April 2013. But now, MailOnline can reveal he was sent back to his home country on January 30, 2017 – after serving less than four years behind bars for his sickening assault.

It comes as Spraggan, 31, broke down in tears on Monday as she revealed how Simon Cowell had apologised to her after he learned she had been raped while on the ITV talent show.  

Soby John (pictured) was a hotel porter when he used his staff key card to enter the room of Lucy Spraggan and rape her in 2012 while she was competing on the X Factor

A heartbroken Lucy Spraggan breaks down in tears as she told of how Simon Cowell apologised to her after hearing she had been raped by a hotel porter while she was a contestant on the show in 2012 

Spraggan was scouted for the show at 20 and made it through the first three live shows before quitting abruptly. She is pictured during her audition in 2012

In a harrowing interview about her ordeal, she wept as she described how 63-year-old music mogul Cowell told her: ‘Lucy, before you or I say anything else, the first thing I need to tell you is that I am sorry.’

‘It makes me emotional because no one else said sorry. And all it took was this one man to treat me like a human being, 11 years later,’ Spraggan told the BBC about Cowell’s response.

John (pictured before being jailed) was deported in 2017 after serving less than four years of his 10-year prison term for rape 

The Home Office declined to comment specifically on John’s deportation when approached by MailOnline. 

But a spokeswoman did say: ‘Foreign nationals who commit crimes here in the UK will face the full force of the law, including deportation at the earliest opportunity for those eligible.’

During John’s sentencing in 2013, Judge Alistair McCreath described how the rapist had left his victim with ‘massive anxiety’ and ‘huge trust issues’ following the brutal assault, which left Spraggan terrified to stay in hotels or go out alone.

Peter Higginson, defending John during his 2013 hearing, told Southwark Crown Court his client had been a ‘naive young man, floundering in a culture which he hadn’t come to terms with’. 

‘It was a single foolish act,’ the barrister told the court, before insisting his rapist client had had a clean record before he violated Spraggan while she was drunk.

But Judge McCreath rebuffed the claim and slammed John, saying: ‘I recognise you are relatively young and you were brought up in a different culture from the culture where this terrible offence took place.

‘But whatever cultural values you were brought up with, I do not for a moment accept they condone the act of non-consensual intercourse with a woman who was so drunk as to be insensible.’ 

Lucy Spraggan wept as she bravely spoke out about her sexual assault ordeal on the X Factor. She is pictured performing at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on May 18, 2023 

The singer-songwriter left the show abruptly after week three when she was raped by a porter in a hotel room. At the time it was reported she was ill. She is pictured in April 2023

The MailOnline understands that under John’s deportation conditions, he is not permitted to return to the UK.  

Spraggan has since spoken out about her horrific ordeal in her memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through. 

READ MORE: X Factor star Lucy Spraggan breaks down in tears as she reveals Simon Cowell apologised when he learned she had been raped by a hotel porter during her time on the talent show

In the book, she describes how she was sexually assaulted after fellow contestant Rylan Clark’s 25th birthday party, where staff and singers were given ‘free alcohol’ – ultimately leading to Spraggan falling unconscious.   

The savage attack left her unable to continue the show due to strong side effects of Pep medication – a drug given to her by doctors which can prevent someone contracting HIV.

She told the Guardian how a member of the production team escorted the singer back to the hotel from the Mayfair Mahiki nightclub where a hotel porter offered to help return Spraggan safely to her room.

But as the staff member left her room, the porter is said to have manually prevented the room from locking automatically. 

She and Clark had allegedly been sent to the hotel in Edgware Road, away from the Corinthia where the show usually housed its performers, with 24-hour security.

Spraggan described how she believed this was part of their ‘storyline’ for the show, in which they were known for partying and staying out late.

Some time later, Clark arrived back at the hotel and checked in on his fellow contestant – crucially then ensuring her door was locked before he left her asleep. 

This meant that the porter then had to use a traceable keycard in order to get into the room and commit the rape, she explained.

The next day, Spraggan woke up and instantly knew something was wrong.

She told the Guardian: ‘I woke up the next day with this sense of sheer dread.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt that level of confusion since. I knew that I’d been raped, but I could not process that. So I put my clothes on and went into autopilot.’ 

Rylan Clark and Lucy pictured leaving filming studios during their 2012 stint on the X Factor

Rylan (left) made sure Spraggan’s hotel door locked as he left, meaning her attacker was traced by the keycard he used to enter

Spraggan described how she woke up and felt a ‘sense of dread’. Speaking to the BBC, she opened up about the trauma of her attack in 2012 

After telling Clark, who she describes as a fierce advocate for her, production staff were informed and police were called. 

She was prescribed Pep which, if taken within the first 72 hours of having sex, can stop the spread of HIV – but it left her feeling too ill to continue singing in the show.

Spraggan said she had wanted to come clean about why she suddenly quit the X Factor, but claims various people encouraged her not to.

Now she is frustrated at the lack of aftercare she received upon leaving the competition, as although she reportedly received medical and financial support in the immediate aftermath, she says she had no support after trial. 

She writes: ‘No one ever contacted me to ask if I was OK. No one called or emailed when the trial was over and he was convicted. No one offered me rehabilitation or ongoing mental health treatment. I was on my own.’

The man behind the attack pleaded guilty at trial and was sentenced to ten years in prison, meaning the singer did not have to relive the trauma of the rape in the witness box. 

But she maintains she was ‘lucky’ her rapist was brought to justice – because her friend looked out for her.

‘I’m lucky because Rylan shut that door.’ 

Following the revelations, Simon Cowell told the Guardian what happened to Spraggan was ‘horrific and heartbreaking’.

He continued: ‘Although we met under tragic circumstances, a genuine friendship and a mutual respect has developed between us. Lucy is one of the most authentic, talented and brave people I have ever met. 

‘I have always supported her wish to tell her story as well as her efforts to bring about positive change.’

Simon Cowell said he is still in touch with Spraggan, who he described as ‘one of the most authentic, talented and brave people I have ever met’. He also apologised after hearing about her trauma while taking part in the 2012 show 

Now she is frustrated at the lack of aftercare she received upon leaving the competition, as although she reportedly received medical and financial support in the immediate aftermath, she says she had no support after trial

A spokesperson for ITV said: ‘We have the deepest compassion for Lucy and everything she has endured as a result of this horrific ordeal. We commend her resilience and bravery.

‘The X Factor was produced by Thames and Syco, who were primarily responsible for duty of care towards all of its programme contributors. 

‘ITV as a commissioning broadcaster is committed to having in place suitable and robust oversight procedures, with a view to ensuring that independent producers employ the correct processes to protect the mental health and welfare of participants.

‘We continue to evolve our own duty of care processes on programmes we produce to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to support contributors before, during and after filming. In an event of such a distressing nature, welfare and support towards the victim would always be of the utmost priority.’

A spokesperson for the production company behind the show, Fremantle, added: ‘The serious sexual assault suffered by Lucy Spraggan in October 2012 was a truly horrific criminal act for which the perpetrator, who was not connected with the programme, was rightfully prosecuted and imprisoned. 

‘Anyone should feel safe when they are sleeping in a hotel room – and it is abhorrent to think that a hotel porter abused that trust in such a vile way.

‘To our knowledge, the assault was an event without precedent in the UK television industry. 

‘Whilst we believed throughout that we were doing our best to support Lucy in the aftermath of the ordeal, as Lucy thinks we could have done more, we must therefore recognise this. For everything Lucy has suffered, we are extremely sorry.

‘Since then, we have done our very best to learn lessons from these events and improve our aftercare processes.

‘Whilst we have worked hard to try and protect Lucy’s lifetime right to anonymity, we applaud her strength and bravery now that she has chosen to waive that right.’

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222.

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