A man who committed sexual assaults on board Lewisham buses has been jailed.
A serial sex offender has been jailed after he pleaded guilty following an investigation by detectives from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command.
Mohammed Aminu, 26 (28.06.97) of Nightingale Grove, Hither Green appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday, 6 December where he was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment for three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual communication with a 14-year-old child.
He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.
The court heard that on Wednesday, 22 March, Aminu boarded a Route 181 bus in Lewisham High Street where he engaged a 14-year-old girl in conversation. He then followed her from the bus and sexually assaulted her.
Half an hour later, he boarded a Route 124 bus and engaged a 16-year-old girl in conversation before sexually assaulting her. When she got off the bus he followed her to school where she was able to seek help.
Three days later on Saturday, 25 March, Aminu boarded a bus in Soho and sexually assaulted another victim after following them from a bus.
Investigations were launched after the victims reported the incidents to police.
Detectives trawled CCTV footage from the buses and Aminu was quickly identified as being the suspect in all of the offences. He was arrested on Friday, 9 May.
Detective Sergeant Matthew Brown, of the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: “These were particularly nasty assaults on girls going to school and a further assault of an adult who was travelling home from work on a night bus. In every case he used force against his victims.
“Everyone should be able to travel on London’s bus network without fear of being targeted by a sexual predator. It is vital that anyone approached by a predator reports the incident to police – we need you to tell us what happened, no matter how minor you may think it is, it may be part of a pattern of predatory behaviour that we can put a stop to.”
Mandy McGregor, TfL’s Head of Policing and Community Safety, said: “These are appalling incidents and we’re pleased to see that the offender is facing the consequences of his actions. No one should ever be subjected to this type of behaviour when travelling on our network and we are working closely with the police to make the transport network a hostile place for offenders. We’d like to thank these women and girls for coming forward and reporting to the police, helping to bring this offender to justice.
“We urge anyone who experiences or witnesses sexual offences or harassment on our networks to report it to the police or a member of staff so that we can take action and prevent it from happening to someone else. The earlier it is reported, the stronger the evidence we have to help ensure that perpetrators face justice.”
Anyone who has been a victim of crime on the bus network should call 101 or report online at www.met.police.uk.
In an emergency always dial 999.
