A man who masturbated on board a morning train and later claimed he thought he was alone has been jailed for one year and eight months.

29 year old Igor Borges from Barnet has also been ordered to sign sex offenders register for 10 years and pay a victim surcharge.

The court heard how at around 9am on the 1st of September last year on board a train from London Bridge to West Croydon, Borges was sat across the aisle from the victim when he exposed himself and started masturbating while looking at her.

She noticed in the window reflection that Borges was staring at her, and when she looked over and saw him masturbating, he continued. The victim then called the police on 999, and Borges put his finger to his lips to indicate not to tell anyone.

She stood up from her seat and moved carriages to find another seat, and Borges followed her through the carriage apologising. As she walked through the train, she told other passengers what had happened who intervened and stopped Borges following her.

He left the train at West Croydon and British Transport Police detectives launched an investigation to track him down.

Through their enquiries using the on-train CCTV, Borges was identified as he already had a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in place which he breached in committing the offence that morning. He was arrested at his home address two weeks later.

His existing SHPO had been in place since August 2023 and prohibited him from making any direct or indirect approach to a female not known to him in a public place.

Upon being arrested he stated it wasn’t him that committed the offence and the officers had it wrong, although later in interview he claimed he thought he was alone when he masturbated on-board the train.

Due to the strong case against him built by BTP Detectives, Borges changed his original not guilty plea to guilty.

BTP Detective Constable Karim Omer said: “This is not the first time Borges has been caught for a crime like this, and his far-fetched excuse that he was alone on a train in Central London at 9am did not wash with us.

“It is thanks to the courage of the victim in reporting his disgusting actions that we have been able to bring him before the courts and put him behind bars, and I hope that this sentence provides the victim a sense of closure.

“If you experience or witness a sexual offence on-board a train or at a station, I urge you to report it to us by texting 61016. We take every report seriously and will stop at nothing to bring sexual offenders like Borges to justice.”