A man described as an "opportunistic predator" has been sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting two women on late-night trains in London.
Sebastian Vernon, 45, of West London, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for seven years. He was sentenced on July 1 following a trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court.
British Transport Police released CCTV footage showing Vernon walking through train carriages. The footage was released after he was convicted of the assaults. One of the images shows Vernon wearing a black suit as he moved through a nearly empty carriage.
The court heard that on March 25, Vernon boarded a Circle line train at Ladbroke Grove heading towards King's Cross station around 11 p.m. Although the carriage was mostly empty, he sat next to a young woman and sexually assaulted her. The woman attempted to escape by pretending to disembark but remained on the train after seeing Vernon leave.
Approximately two weeks later, on April 8, Vernon targeted another woman. He sat beside her on a train from Stevenage to Hitchin shortly before midnight. While attempting small talk, the woman grew suspicious and moved toward the carriage doors. As she waited to exit, Vernon assaulted her.
The second victim reported the assault using British Transport Police's text-to-report service, which allowed officers to link both attacks to the same offender. Detailed descriptions provided by both women aided specialist officers in identifying Vernon.
Officers apprehended Vernon outside a central London court as he was leaving a hearing for unrelated offenses, including assault, theft, and cannabis possession. He was arrested on suspicion of two counts of sexual assault by touching.
Detective Constable Iryna Cuthbert of the British Transport Police stated that Vernon "prowled train carriages late at night seeking out women who were travelling alone before attacking them." She commended the victims for reporting the incidents and supporting the investigation, which led to Vernon's imprisonment. "Tackling sexual offending on the railway is a top priority for BTP," Cuthbert added, encouraging anyone who witnesses or experiences such crimes to report them by texting 61016.
