Description
A sex offender who subjected a woman to a terrifying ordeal on a train in Manchester has been jailed within 72 hours thanks to a fast-paced British Transport Police investigation.
Babatunde Odutola, 36, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Manchester Magistrates Court on Monday 14 September to 44 weeks imprisonment in total after pleading guilty to one charge of Outraging Public Decency and for breaching a suspended sentence order.
The court heard how just three days previously, at around 7pm on Friday 11 September, Odutola approached a woman whilst on a train travelling through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly railway station. He looked her up and down intimidatingly and acted aggressively when she chose not to engage with him.
Odutola then began exposing himself while sat in a wheelchair and masturbating, looking at her and telling her to ‘come over’.
The victim was escorted out of the carriage by a fellow passenger, distressed by the incident. CCTV shows he continued to masturbate as other passengers passed through the carriage, undeterred. Police were called and Odutola was arrested by British Transport Police officers once the train had arrived into Manchester Piccadilly station.
British Transport Police Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou said:
“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’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.
“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.
“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.
“If you experience or witness these crimes on the railway, please report it to us by texting 61016. We will always take action.”