'Repugnant' Wolverhampton man who performed sex acts opposite lone women on trains is locked up
A serial offender who committed lewd sexual acts while staring at lone women on trains has been jailed for two years.
Roy Thomas, 30, of The Avenue, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to three counts of exposure and three counts of being in breach of a sexual harm prevention order at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
At the time of his offending in January this year he was in breach of a sexual harm prevention order that forbade him from unzipping, loosening or removing any piece of clothing covering his genitals in a public place.
The court heard that on the afternoon of January 11, Thomas, wearing a yellow hi-vis jacket, boarded a train at Birmingham New Street and sat near a young woman.
A short while later she turned to see he was staring at her and performing a sex act, so she quickly got up and ran off the train at Coseley station to escape him.
Thomas returned to the railway on January 19, on this occasion wearing a camouflage jacket.
He boarded a Birmingham-bound train at Wolverhampton, sat near a 16-year-old girl, exposed himself and performed a sex act while staring her.
She too ran away from him.
Two hours later he got on another train at Birmingham New Street heading back to Wolverhampton and sat opposite another young woman. A few moments passed and again he repeated the sex act while continually smirking at her.
She approached the train conductor to inform them of Thomas’ actions, however he quickly left the train and said, “that b**** is lying”.
All three victims reported Thomas’ offending and he was arrested on January 21.
A judge sentenced him to a total of two years behind bars on November 28.
Detective Constable Alexander Long, investigating officer in the case for the British Transport Police, said: “It’s abundantly clear from his repugnant behaviour that Thomas is a threat to women and girls – I’m pleased he’s now confined to a small cell.
“His total disregard for his sexual harm prevention order proved he was dead set on using the railway for the sole purpose of sexual gratification.
“Our commitment to putting sex offenders behind bars is as strong as ever, and I would urge anyone who is subjected to this harassment on the railway to report it to us just as the three victims in this instance did.
“You can do so by texting 61016, calling 0800 40 50 40 or via our Railway Guardian app. Every report contributes to keeping everyone on the rail network safe.”
