A 36-year-old registered sex offender, Babatunde Odutola, has been jailed in the United Kingdom after exposing himself and masturbating in front of a woman on a train travelling towards Manchester.
Odutola was sentenced to 44 weeks in prison at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 14, after pleading guilty to one count of outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order.
The British Transport Police, in a statement released on Thursday said the incident occurred at about 7pm on Friday, September 11, while Odutola was on a train travelling through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly railway station.
According to the police, Odutola approached the woman, “looked her up and down intimidatingly” and acted aggressively after she chose not to engage with him.
The statement said Odutola then exposed himself while seated in a wheelchair and masturbated while looking at the woman and telling her to “come over”.
The woman was escorted from the carriage by another passenger who was distressed by the incident, while CCTV showed Odutola continuing to masturbate as other passengers passed through the carriage.
The police said officers arrested Odutola after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly station.
British Transport Police Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou said the incident must have been terrifying for the woman, who was travelling alone.
“Odutola is clearly an incredibly dangerous individual and his disturbing behaviour must have been terrifying for the victim, who he singled out when she was travelling on her own,” he said.
Christoforou said Odutola denied the allegations during a police interview but later pleaded guilty after investigators presented evidence against him.
“He’s shown little remorse for his actions and denied the allegations against him during his police interview. But a stack of incriminating evidence, including damning CCTV and several witness accounts, left him with little choice but to plead guilty when he appeared in court,” he said.
According to the police, the incident was not the first involving Odutola, who was already a registered sex offender.
“This was not a one-off from Odutola, who was already a registered sex offender, and this type of alarming, predatory behaviour simply will not be tolerated on our railways,” Christoforou said.
He said the force would continue to pursue offenders who commit such crimes on the railway.
“Holding vile offenders like him to account is a number one priority for us as a force and we’re tireless in our efforts to bring them to justice,” he said.
Christoforou also urged members of the public to report sexual offences witnessed or experienced on the railway.
“If you experience or witness these crimes on the railway, please report it to us by texting 61016. We will always take action,” he said.
The British Transport Police said the investigation led to Odutola being jailed within 72 hours of the incident.
(Punch)
