UK-based Nigerian man jailed, banned from sitting near lone women after train sexual assault.
By Khubayb Adefaka
No one should feel unsafe or be subjected to such violations as they travel,” Stewart said.
A Nigerian man has been sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to sexually assaulting two women on separate train journeys between Hampshire and London.
Esosa Eguakin was jailed following an investigation by the British Transport Police (BTP). He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced on Tuesday, 10 February, at Guildford Crown Court.
In addition to the custodial sentence, the court imposed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), restricting his behaviour in public. The order prohibits him from sitting or standing next to, or directly opposite, lone women.
The court heard that on 21 August last year, Eguakin boarded a Fratton to London Waterloo service shortly after 7:15am. He deliberately sat behind a woman in her 30s and sexually assaulted her during the journey.
In a second incident on 6 October, shortly after 6am, he assaulted another woman on a train travelling from Eastleigh to London Waterloo.
When challenged, he claimed he was attempting to retrieve a mobile phone he had dropped. He refused to move away from the victim, prompting an off-duty police officer to intervene and escort him off the train at Woking station.
The officer arrested Eguakin and detained him until other officers arrived and took him into custody. A subsequent BTP investigation into both incidents led to him being formally charged.
Detective Constable David Stewart described Eguakin’s actions as “predatory and deeply distressing” for both victims.
“No one should feel unsafe or be subjected to such violations as they travel,” Stewart said. He commended the victims for their courage in supporting the investigation and praised the off-duty officer whose swift response prevented further harm.
The British Transport Police urged anyone who experiences or witnesses a sexual offence on a train or at a station to report it by texting 61016 or calling 999 in an emergency, assuring that all reports are taken seriously and offenders will be brought to justice.
