By Ado Oyeyemi
A 36-year-old registered sex offender, Babatunde Odutola, has been jailed in the United Kingdom for exposing himself and masturbating in front of a woman on a train travelling towards Manchester.
Odutola was sentenced to 44 weeks in prison by the Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 14, after pleading guilty to outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order.
The British Transport Police, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the incident occurred at about 7pm on Friday, September 11, on a train travelling through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly railway station.
The police said Odutola approached the woman and “looked her up and down intimidatingly” before becoming aggressive when she declined to engage with him.
According to the statement, Odutola, who was seated in a wheelchair, subsequently exposed himself and masturbated while staring at the woman and telling her to “come over”.
Another passenger, who was distressed by the incident, helped escort the woman away from the carriage. CCTV footage later showed Odutola continuing the act as other passengers moved through the carriage.
Police officers arrested him after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly station.
British Transport Police Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou said the incident must have been frightening for the woman, who was travelling alone.
Christoforou said Odutola initially denied the allegation during police questioning but later pleaded guilty after investigators presented CCTV footage and witness accounts.
The detective added that the incident was not the first involving Odutola, noting that he was already a registered sex offender.
He said the police would continue to take action against people who commit sexual offences on the railway and urged passengers who witness or experience such incidents to report them.
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The force said members of the public could report sexual offences on the railway by texting 61016, adding that the investigation resulted in Odutola being jailed within 72 hours of the incident.
