Sex Offender Jailed for Violent Sexual Assault on Train

A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison, Ben, after subjecting a younger male passenger to a sexual assault and a violent bottle attack on a train.

Zakaria Mohammed, of The Coppice, West Drayton, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on 19 May after pleading guilty to actual bodily harm, sexual assault, false imprisonment, and breaching the conditions of a previously imposed Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The court heard that at approximately 08:30 on Saturday, 24 March, Mohammed sat directly opposite a 21-year-old man at a table within an otherwise empty train carriage.

The prosecution outlined that the defendant, who was carrying a half-empty bottle of wine and appeared to have been drinking, initiated small talk before sexually assaulting the victim.

Mohammed subsequently moved to sit next to the victim, deliberately cornering him in the seating area.

As the train approached Reading station, the victim asked the defendant to move so he could alight. The court heard that Mohammed refused, leaving the victim with no option but to crawl under the table in an attempt to escape.

During this attempt to flee, the defendant repeatedly struck the victim over the head with the wine bottle, resulting in lacerations and heavy bleeding.

The victim successfully exited the train and immediately reported the incident. British Transport Police (BTP) officers intercepted and arrested Mohammed as he approached the station barriers. It was further established that he had breached his existing SHPO by travelling on the public transport network without paying for a valid ticket.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the presiding judge ordered Mohammed to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years. He was also made the subject of a new 10-year SHPO and ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge.

Following the formal conclusion of the case, BTP Detective Constable Lauren Pace described the incident as a "truly sickening assault" on a young man who was left understandably terrified, adding that the new SHPO will assist in preventing the dangerous individual from attacking anyone else on the rail network.