Description
Pervert sex attacker targeted girl on train and said 'you're game'
Nathan Russell, a 28-year-old man with no fixed abode, sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl on a train in March 2020. While intoxicated, he boarded the train at Leasowe station, engaged the girl in conversation after his friend left, mentioned his prison history, and proceeded to stroke her thigh for about 10 minutes, attempt to kiss her (which she dodged), and touch her sexually over her clothes. He asked if she was "game," implying sexual interest, despite her refusals. The girl moved his hand away, and he did not persist further.
Russell has a extensive criminal record with 40 previous convictions for 59 offenses, including battery, prior sexual assault (touching a 17-year-old girl at a train station in 2018, leading to a seven-year sex offender registration), and drunk and disorderly conduct. At the time of the train assault, he was on bail for an earlier January 2020 incident where he punched and kicked a man in Birkenhead after being denied alcohol or money. He also breached sex offender register rules by failing to report weekly as required after declaring homelessness.
In a victim impact statement, the girl described severe effects: PTSD, sleep issues, fear of further attacks, avoidance of going out alone, and ongoing therapy, noting a shift from being sociable to withdrawn.
At Liverpool Crown Court on July 20, 2020, Russell pleaded guilty to sexual assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and breaching the register. His defense highlighted his alcohol dependency, remorse (calling his actions "disgusting"), vulnerability after his mother's 2017 death, and unstable living situation ("sofa to sofa"). Judge David Swinnerton sentenced him to 28 months in prison (half on license), a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and 10 years on the sex offenders register.
Update 2025-09-11
A convicted sex offender is back behind bars after stealing food from a Wirral branch of B&M.
Nathan Russell, 33, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Magistrates Court to charges of theft from a shop and failing to comply with the notification requirements of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).
The court heard that Russell, of no fixed abode, stole food worth £34.22 from B&M in Wirral on Friday, September 5, 2025.
At the time of the offence, Russell was subject to both a community order (CO) and a suspended sentence order (SSO).
He also admitted failing without reasonable excuse to comply with the notification requirements of his SHPO by not notifying police at Birkenhead Police Station within three days of his release from custody.
The magistrates sentenced him to eight weeks in prison for his latest offences.
Russell was made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order after sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl on a train in Wirral five years ago.
The court heard how, on Sunday, March 1, 2020, at around 8pm, his 16-year-old victim spotted Russell carrying a case of beer, swigging from a can, and arguing with a member of station staff at Leasowe station as she waited to board her train.
Russell and another man, whom the victim assumed to be his friend, boarded the train and sat in the same carriage as the girl.
When Russell’s friend left the train, Russell switched seats to move closer to the victim and began engaging her in conversation.
During the conversation, the girl began to feel increasingly uncomfortable as Russell touched her inappropriately—an ordeal that lasted over 10 minutes.
His terrified victim was afraid to challenge Russell, as he had told her he had served time in prison.
In a previous incident, Russell had touched a 17-year-old girl at a train station, which resulted in a conviction and him signing the sex offenders register for seven years.
He was sentenced to 28 months in prison for the 2020 offence.