A 48-year-old man who exposed and touched himself inappropriately in front of lone women on the tube has been spared jail.

Laszlo Szigili, of Watford Way in Hendon, took his trousers off and touched himself in front of women travelling alone on three separate occasions.

Szigili boarded Central and Northern line trains between September 2014 and January 2017 and while alone in the carriage with the women he exposed himself in front of them.

He did this between stations so the women could not get off the train to escape, police said.

Director of enforcement and on-street operations at Transport for London (TfL), Steve Burton said: “All our passengers have the right to travel without fear or intimidation and as this case highlights, those who commit unwanted sexual acts like Szigili will be caught and brought to justice.

“We do not tolerate this type of unacceptable behaviour on our network and are working closely with police to stamp it out.

“I urge anyone who experiences it to report it to police – your report matters, will be taken seriously and used by police to build a picture of the offender, so they can be caught and brought to justice.”

Szigili pleaded guilty to three counts of outraging public decency and was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court on March 14.

He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.

Szigili was arrested after an incident in January and was identified by a British Transport Police officer as an outstanding suspect for two other offences in 2014 and 2015.

On Monday (April 3), he was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, ordered to take part in a Community Sex Offender Group programme and must pay £170 in costs.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Allan McTaggard with the British Transport Police said: “We treat every crime of this type extremely seriously and as this case demonstrates we regularly review historical crimes.

“We remain committed to bringing offenders to just no matter the timescales involved.

“We are committed to making the London Underground a hostile environment for criminals, particularly those who commit sexual offences against the travelling public.”

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