Hunt for man who ‘masturbated in front of woman on Elizabeth line train’

Police have launched a search for a man who masturbated in front of a woman on the Elizabeth Line.

At around 9:15pm on February 4, the woman was travelling eastwards from Tottenham Court Road to Stratford when the man standing in front of her began masturbating through a hole in his trouser pocket.

British Transport Police (BTP) said: ‘He then sat down opposite her and exposed himself before leaving the train at Stratford.’

BTP have released a photo of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the crime, as he ‘may have information’ that could help them.

Women’s safety on public transport has become a topic of debate in recent years, as it was previously revealed that less than 15% of crimes reported to the British Transport Police resulted in a successful prosecution in 2021.

One terrifying instance of harassment went viral last October when a man was filmed crossing the train tracks to harass a woman sitting alone at an Overground station.

BPT began the 61016 campaign in 2013 in England, Scotland and Wales, urging passengers to remain vigilant and report incidents.

The service has seen a large PR push following skyrocketing reports of sexual harassment on public transport as police attempted to regain the confidence of women after the tragic kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

But many women who endured sexual harassment or assault while travelling on public transport during the pandemic say their cases were dropped because of the lack of CCTV cameras.

Despite the push to text 61016, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made by Metro.co.uk reveal that 4,086 out of 4,739 crime reports were closed without any result in 2020 and 2021.

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