"This was a brazen and targeted attack on a young woman who was travelling on her own."
A 39-year-old Indian-origin man has been jailed for 16 weeks and placed on the sexual offenders register for seven years after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman while travelling on a train from Birmingham to London.
Mukhan Singh, from the Sandwell area of the West Midlands region of England, was arrested for the crime en route at Leamington station back in 2021. He entered his guilty plea at Warwick Crown Court last month and was sentenced recently.
"This was a brazen and targeted attack on a young woman who was travelling on her own and had every right to a safe journey," said Detective Constable (DC) Harris, the Investigating Officer in the case.
"Instead, she was violated by Singh, who then had the audacity to claim she had 'wanted' it in his police interview. I am pleased to see the court hand down a custodial sentence, which will allow Singh plenty of time to reflect on his unacceptable actions," he said.
According to a local media report in 'Warwickshire World', the court heard how, in September 2021, the victim, a woman in her twenties, was on a train travelling from Birmingham Moor Street station to London Marylebone when Singh began to stare at her from a nearby table seat. Singh later sat next to the victim in the aisle seat, blocking her in, before sexually assaulting her.
The victim recorded footage of Singh as he prepared to leave the train at Leamington Spa before reporting what happened to a member of staff. Singh was stopped at the station, and police were called. He was arrested by officers at the station and taken to police custody.
After his arrest and during his police interview, the accused claimed that the victim "wanted something done to her".
"We take all reports of sexual offences seriously and will support victims throughout our investigations as we work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice," added DC Harris.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)