Stopping Sexual Predators In Their Tracks

30 March 2017 | Updated 01 January 1970

A new hard hitting campaign to encourage people to report unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport has been launched by Transport for London (TfL), British Transport Police (BTP), Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and City of London Police (CoLP) just as some horrific recent cases have come to light.

Victoria Line – London

Detectives are appealing for witnesses after a man was sexually assaulted whilst on a Victoria Line train. The incident happened at approximately 7.30am on Wednesday March 22 as the 38-year-old victim was travelling to work.

He had boarded the southbound Victoria Line service at Finsbury Park, it was very busy and he was standing. During the journey, a man stood very close to the victim and pressed himself against him. He then touched the man sexually in what was is described as 'a prolonged assault'. The touching did not stop until the victim left the service at Kings Cross.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Suleman Yazdani, said: “This was a disgraceful and prolonged assault committed on a busy commuter tube service. As you can imagine this was a frightening experience for him as he quite rightly did not expect or want this man to touch him.

“Unwanted sexual behaviour such as this will never be tolerated and we work closely with our partners throughout the capital to encourage victims to report offences. Recently, we launched a refreshed version of the highly successful Report it to Stop it campaign, to tackle under-reporting and raise awareness of the reporting services.”

Man sentenced for offences against more than 100 women - London

A man who called himself TubePerve and filmed up the skirts of more than 100 women over five years on the London Underground has been sentenced for his crimes.

Simon Lucy, aged 61, of Blackheath Road, Greenwich, London, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months and has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prohibits him from sitting next to any lone women he does not know and from being in possession of a camera or camera phone.

Lucy was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court on Tuesday March 21 after being convicted of outraging public decency relating to 106 women at the same court on 21 February.

Between November 2011 and June 2016, Lucy travelled on the London Underground and DLR trains and filmed up women’s skirts without their consent. He then uploaded footage to the internet using the username ‘TUBEPERVE’. He discussed the content with other users in online comments posted beneath each film, some of which identified the women as they showed their faces.

Investigating officer, Det Con Allan McTaggart, said: “After five years of offending, Lucy has been convicted and sentenced for his crimes. The Sexual Harm Prevention Order means he cannot be in possession of a device capable of capturing still or moving images or a device capable of accessing the internet unless he makes the devices available to police for inspection. He is not allowed to enter any railway station unless he is there to travel, with a valid ticket or pass registered to his name and he must not sit immediately next to or opposite any lone female unknown to him."

Jail for man who sexually assaulted women on train - Crewe

A 43-year-old man who pinned a young woman to her seat as he sexually assaulted her on a train has been jailed for 15 months.

Nicky Bayliss, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to 13 months in jail at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, March 17. He was also placed on the sex offender register for 10 years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £140.

He was given an additional two month sentence for theft and failure to surrender to bail.

The court heard how on Sunday, 7 August, last year, Bayliss approached his first victim as she sat alone, reading on the train. He made lewd comments. The victim attempted to ignore him but his comments became more explicit and she felt frightened by his behaviour. When he began to touch her she pushed him away but was pinned to her seat by Bayliss who continued to sexually assault her.

When another woman entered the vestibule area, unaware of what had just taken place, Bayliss began to touch her and make sexually explicit comments to her.

Both women left the train at Crewe and reported the incident to police.

Bayliss was later identified following a media appeal.

Investigating officer PC Melanie Dodd said: “This was a terrifying experience for the victims, particularly the young woman who was trapped in her seat while she was assaulted. Both women showed great courage in coming forward to report the assault and identify Bayliss. No one should be made to feel afraid for their safety or experience disgusting behaviour like this. Clearly Bayliss thought he could get away with this vile behaviour, something which he has plenty of time to reflect on as he sits in his cell."

“The Report It to Stop It campaign, which aims to combat unwanted sexual behaviour on the railway by encouraging members of the public to report it, is proving very successful in supporting victims and bringing perpetrators of these crimes to justice.”

Report it to stop it is a campaign to encourage passengers to report unwanted sexual behaviour to the police.

The campaign forms part of a programme of policing activity to eradicate unwanted sexual behaviour on London’s transport network.

Building on the 2015 Report it to Stop it film, which has been viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube alone, the new campaign underlines that every report matters, is taken extremely seriously and provides valuable information to help catch offenders. The film also warns potential offenders that they could be caught at any time.

TfL’s most successful campaign film has helped encourage women to come forward and report unwanted sexual behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable - with a 36 per cent increase in arrests since its launch.

Since TfL and the police launched the Project Guardian partnership in 2013, with the aim of eliminating unwanted sexual behaviour from the transport network, the number of annual reports has doubled from 1,023 in 2012/13 to 2,087 in 2015/16.

Those who experience unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport do not always feel they will be believed or that the offender will be caught. The new campaign film has evolved to tackle head-on those misconceptions, highlighting how every report matters, is taken seriously and used by police to bring the offender to justice.

The film

The film shows a successful businessman, presenting to colleagues in an office, his face is pixelated. Voices of women recalling their experiences of various types of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport are heard. As each woman recounts her experience the man’s face becomes increasingly visible until he can be seen clearly. At the end of the film the man is apprehended by police, with his colleagues left in shock.

View the campaign film below