Double sex offender who pressed himself up against victims on the Underground is sentenced

A man has been sentenced for sexually assaulting two women on the London Underground .

Richard Parrett of Markfield Road in Caterham, Surrey pleaded guilty to two offences at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday November 2.

The two incidents date back to earlier this year, after which both victims reported the assault to British Transport Police (BTP).

On Tuesday April 26 at just after 8am, a 22-year-old woman was travelling on the Central line towards St Pauls from Oxford Circus, when Parrett began pressing his body against the victim.

The following month a 19-year-old reported a similar incident. She was on a northbound Northern line train at London Bridge on May 11 at around 8am.

The victim was aware that Parrett was standing very close, when only two other passengers remained on the tube at Bank station.

Parrett drew closer to the victim and began pressing himself against her in a "rubbing motion for roughly 30 seconds", the BTP said.

Following identification via CCTV, Parrett was arrested.

The 49-year-old was sentenced to pay £85 in costs, a twelve month community order, as well as 60 hours unpaid work and he will remain on the sex offenders register for five years.

“This was an incredibly shocking experience for both victims who were innocently going about their own business." said Detective Inspector Bob Stokoe from BTP.

“The most important thing is that both victims had the confidence to report these crimes to police.

"By doing so, we were able to identify Parrett and ensure that he was brought before the courts."

Acting district crown prosecutor, Emma Tait said the court take incidents like these very seriously.

"His guilty plea meant they were not forced to relive the distressing incidents in court," he said.

"I want to thank them for reporting the incident and reassure other travellers that we do take such cases to court so criminals are held accountable for their actions.”

British Transport Police say in incident like these, it will "work tirelessly to find the person responsible."

Detective Inspector Bob Stokoe said: “Our Report It to Stop It campaign with Transport for London aims to combat unwanted sexual behaviour on the railway by encouraging members of the public to report it, is proving very successful in supporting victims and bringing perpetrators of these crimes to justice.”

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