A 36-year-old Nigerian man, 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 following an incident on a train travelling towards Manchester.
According to the British Transport Police (BTP), the incident occurred at about 7 p.m. on Friday, September 11, 2026, while the train was travelling through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly.
BTP said Odutola approached a woman who was travelling alone and looked her up and down in an intimidating manner before becoming aggressive when she did not engage with him.
The police said he subsequently exposed himself while seated in a wheelchair and masturbated while looking towards the woman and repeatedly telling her to “come over.”
The woman was left distressed by the incident, prompting another passenger to intervene and escort her out of the carriage. Police said CCTV footage later showed Odutola continuing the act as other passengers passed through the carriage.
BTP officers arrested him after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly station.
Odutola appeared before Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 14, just three days after the incident. He pleaded guilty to one count of outraging public decency and to breaching a suspended sentence order, for which the court imposed a total sentence of 44 weeks’ imprisonment.
British Transport Police Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou said the incident must have been particularly frightening for the woman, who was travelling alone.
“His disturbing behaviour must have been terrifying for the victim,”
Christoforou said, adding that Odutola had been a registered sex offender and that the incident was not a one-off.
The detective also said Odutola initially denied the allegations during a police interview, but CCTV footage and witness accounts formed part of the evidence before he eventually pleaded guilty in court.
“This type of alarming, predatory behaviour simply will not be tolerated on our railways,” Christoforou said, according to BTP.
The police force said the case was concluded within 72 hours of the incident, with the rapid investigation supported by CCTV footage and witness evidence.
Odutola’s case was also reported by Nigerian newspapers, which identified him as Nigerian. The official BTP statement confirms his name, age, court appearance, conviction and sentence, although the police release itself does not state his nationality.
BTP urged passengers who experience or witness sexual offences or other criminal behaviour on the railway to report them, noting that incidents can be reported to the force by texting 61016.
