A registered sex offender who subjected a woman to a terrifying ordeal on a train travelling through Cheshire has been jailed just 72 hours after the incident, following a rapid British Transport Police investigation.
Babatunde Odutola, 36, of no fixed address, was arrested when the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly after police were called following the shocking incident.
Just three days later, he was appearing before Manchester Magistrates’ Court.
Odutola was sentenced on Monday, September 14, to a total of 44 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order.
The court heard how the incident unfolded at around 7 pm on Friday, September 11, when Odutola approached a woman travelling alone on a train through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly.
He looked her up and down in an intimidating manner before becoming aggressive when she refused to engage with him.
He then exposed himself while sitting in a wheelchair and began masturbating, staring at the woman and telling her to “come over”.
The woman was left distressed by the ordeal and another passenger stepped in to help, escorting her out of the carriage.
But Odutola continued his behaviour.
CCTV footage showed him masturbating as other passengers walked through the carriage, apparently undeterred by their presence.
British Transport Police officers arrested him when the train reached Manchester Piccadilly.
The subsequent investigation quickly built a case against him, with CCTV footage and accounts from witnesses providing key evidence.
Odutola initially denied the allegations during a police interview but later pleaded guilty when he appeared in court.
Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou said the incident would have been terrifying for the victim, who had been singled out while travelling on her own.
He said Odutola had shown little remorse and stressed that his behaviour was not an isolated incident, highlighting the fact that he was already a registered sex offender.
“This type of alarming, predatory behaviour simply will not be tolerated on our railways,” he said.
Detective Constable Christoforou added that holding offenders accountable was a priority for British Transport Police.
He also urged anyone who experiences or witnesses a sexual offence on the railway to report it.
Reports can be made to British Transport Police by texting 61016, with officers stressing that they will take action against offenders on the railway network.
