Pervert, 40, jailed for masturbating on train does it again | UK | News
A pervert jailed for masturbating train He is behind bars again after committing the same crime 12 days after he was released from prison. James Gathercole, 40, of Streatham, south LondonHe was caught staring at a woman in a nearby seat on a train to East Grinstead, West Sussex, on July 15 last year.
When the carriage emptied at East Croydon, Gathercole exposed himself and began masturbating while continuing to glare at the woman who got off the train at Upper Warlingham and reported him to station staff. British Transport Police were summoned and officers met the train at East Grinstead station, where they found Gathercole asleep in the carriage.
The force said officers arrested him on the spot, while checks on the national police database showed he had breached license conditions and a sexual harm prevention order.
Det Cons Jean-Pierre Choolhun, of British Transport Police, said: “There is absolutely no place for this disgusting behavior in our society.”
The database check also showed Gathercole had been released from prison 12 days earlier after exposing himself and masturbating in front of women on trains in London on May 26, 2024, on two separate occasions.
He was jailed for these offenses in July the same year and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order; This decision prohibited him from traveling on public transport without paying a fare or coming into contact with single women.
Gathercole also breached the conditions of his prison licence, which stated he had to be at home after 7pm, which led to his arrest again for the offense, which took place on July 9.
The second exposure count related to a separate incident in which Gathercole exposed himself and masturbated on a train in South London on June 4, 2024.
He was jailed for two years and four months at Lewes Crown Court on February 2 after pleading guilty to two counts of exposure in breach of a sexual harm prevention order and the conditions of his prison release licence.
Det Cons Choolhun said: “Following our investigation it is entirely correct that James Gathercole has been brought back into custody.”
He said this incident showed that police took all reports of sexual assault extremely seriously, and officers acted immediately, intercepting the train and arresting Gathercole shortly after the report was made.
Anyone who is a victim or witness of a sexual offense on the railway can report it to British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40.
