A 36-year-old Nigerian, Babatunde Odutola, has been sentenced to 44 weeks in prison in the United Kingdom after pleading guilty to outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order.
Odutola was arrested following an incident on a train travelling towards Manchester Piccadilly, where he was accused of masturbating and behaving aggressively towards a woman who was travelling alone.
According to the British Transport Police (BTP), officers were called to Manchester Piccadilly railway station last Friday after receiving a report about the incident. Odutola, who was of no fixed address, was subsequently arrested at the station.
He appeared before Manchester Magistrates’ Court on September 14 and pleaded guilty to one count of outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order. The court subsequently sentenced him to 44 weeks in prison.
Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou said the woman must have found the incident frightening, alleging that Odutola had singled her out while she was travelling alone.
“He’s shown little remorse for his actions and denied the allegations against him during his police interview,” Christoforou said.
Police said investigators gathered CCTV footage and witness accounts which they said provided evidence against Odutola before he eventually admitted the offences in court.
“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,” he added.
The BTP said the investigation was concluded within 72 hours of the initial report, attributing the swift outcome to the rapid response of its officers.
The case follows another incident involving a Nigerian national in the UK. In January, Daniel Odubanjo was sentenced to six years in prison by Chelmsford Crown Court after being convicted of offences including false imprisonment and sexual assault.
Odubanjo’s case involved a woman who reported that she was sexually assaulted while using a train toilet during a journey. He was sentenced on January 12.
