Sebastian Vernon 45

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A sex offender who targeted lone women on late night trains has been jailed following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Sebastian Vernon, 45, and of Finborough Road, West London, was found guilty of two counts of Sexual Assault following a trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

He was sentenced to six months in prison on 1 July and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for seven years.

The court heard how, at around 11pm on 25 March 2025, Vernon boarded a Circle Line train at Ladbrook Grove heading towards King’s Cross station. Despite the carriage being empty he sat next to a young woman before sexually assaulting her while she was trapped in her seat.

In a bid to escape Vernon’s clutches, she pretended she was leaving the train but stayed on when she saw him disembark.

Just two weeks later, on 8 April, Vernon boarded a train from Stevenage to Hitchin just before midnight.

Again he sat next to a young woman in a virtually empty carriage and proceeded to engage her in small talk.

The woman immediately became suspicious of his behaviour and left her seat and moved towards the carriage doors.

When she looked around she realised that Vernon had followed her, and as she waited to leave the service he sexually assaulted her.

The women reported what happened through BTP’s discreet 61016 text-to-report service and its online reporting service and officers soon realised they were looking for the same person for both attacks.

Their detailed reports resulted in officers identifying Vernon and tracing him to a central London court where he was arrested as he emerged from a hearing for unrelated offences of assault, theft and possessing cannabis.

BTP Detective Constable Iryna Cuthbert said:

“Vernon is an opportunistic predator who prowled train carriages late at night seeking out women who were travelling alone before attacking them.

“I commend the bravery of the two women for reporting what happened and supporting our subsequent investigation which has resulted in another sex offender behind bars.

“Tackling sexual offending on the railway is a top priority for BTP and we encourage anyone who is victim of, or witness to, this crime type to report it to us by texting 61016.

“We take every report seriously and offenders like Vernon will be made to face justice.”