Locations
Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3
Description
A man has been put behind bars for a string of masturbating incidents across South Londons railways, following an investigation by the British Transport Police (BTP).
James Gathercole, 36, from Beckenham, repeatedly masturbated in front of women and teenage girls on trains around South-East London before eventually being caught by the police.
He was found guilty of ten indecent exposure offences between December 2020 and November 2021.
Six of which occurred in one single day.
Gathercole was sentenced at London Crown Court in February to sixteen months in prison and will be placed on the sex offenders register for the next ten years.
Its clear from Gathercoles persistent and sickening actions that he is a danger to women and girls, and Im pleased to see that after a rigorous investigation this serial offender is no longer free, said BTP detective constable Sonja Lucas.
These incidents will have had a serious impact on the victims lives, and no one should have to experience such vile behaviour, she added.
The Beckenham man, , was first detained in November last year when a teenage girl approached an off-duty police officer in distress, saying that Gathercole had exposed his genitals and touched himself inappropriately in front of her on a train at New Cross Station.
Officers from the BTP shortly arrived at the scene to arrest him and he was remanded in custody.
This sparked a months-long dedicated investigation by the BTP into a series of reports about masturbating incidents on trains in South-East London, which were soon linked to Gathercole.
The court heard how on 7 August 2021 Gathercole committed six separate offences throughout the afternoon and evening, exposing himself to young women and teenage girls on services between New Cross Gate, Lewisham, and Sydenham stations.
BTP detective constable Lucas said: We are absolutely committed to stamping out this behaviour, and we will continue to target patrols to crime hotspots to catch and deter sexual offenders.
I would also urge anyone who witnesses or experiences a sexual offence or sexual harassment on the railway to report it to us by texting 61016.
We will always take you seriously, she added.