Sex-based harassment: David Stroud, who grabbed woman’s hair on train to London, convicted of first-of-its-kind charge
On the train to London, he grabbed a young woman’s hair and asked, “Can I kiss you?” The man who asked was found guilty of gender-based harassment.
This is the first charge of its kind since the law changed and was brought by British Transport Police.
David Stroud, 44, pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to harassing the woman because of her gender.
The court heard the man made sexually explicit comments to her on a train to London on April 3, two days after legislation banning harassment because of her gender came into force.
Prosecutor Paul Okebu told the court that Stroud was sitting next to the woman, who was on the phone to her boyfriend at the time, on a train that left Hastings at around 8.50pm.
Stroud tried to strike up a conversation with the young woman, who tried to ignore him.
The court heard Stroud, of Dartford, Kent, “constantly leaned on the woman” and approached her, telling her “you are magical” and grabbing her hair, which the victim “perceived as sexual”.
The woman said she could smell alcohol on the defendant’s breath.
Mr Okebu said the woman said the incident “made her very uncomfortable”, that she felt “cornered” and told Stroud to pull her hair and not to touch her.
“He kept talking and then ‘can I kiss you?'” Mr Okebu said. ” he asked,” he said, to which the woman replied “absolutely not.”
Stroud, a father of two, told the woman, “You will never find someone who loves your hair as much as I do,” to which the woman replied, “There is already someone.”
The woman’s boyfriend heard the comments on the phone and called BTP, who arrested Stroud at London Bridge station.
The court heard Stroud, while under caution, said: “It was just a joke, we were joking around together, you know what I mean?”
He also said: “I didn’t do anything wrong to her.”
Alex Chowdhury, defending, told the court that Stroud, who worked as a technician for a water company, had “thought about” his guilt.
“As a result of reading the (court) documents, he realized that this was much more than that (a joke),” Mr. Chowdhury said.
Mr Okebu told the panel of judges: “Your observances, this is a matter that could escalate to sexual assault on another day under different circumstances.
“Targeting a lone woman on public transport late in the evening is a serious crime.”
Judges ordered a pre-sentence report. Stroud’s sentencing will be heard in the same court on June 9.
The new offense under Section 4B of the Public Order Act 1986 covers intentional harassment directed at someone because of their gender, including when perpetrators target women and girls in public places, including streets, parks and public transport, the Home Office previously said.
BTP has previously said the new section “strengthens existing public order powers by criminalizing conduct that causes intentional harassment, alarm or distress because of a person’s sex or assumed gender”.
When the law change was announced, Protection Minister Jess Phillips said: “If you harass someone in public because of their gender, it will not be tolerated and you could face a criminal record and be behind bars for up to two years.”
Nathan Miebai, deputy chief prosecutor at the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: “It is vital that women and girls feel safe in public spaces and can go about their lives without fear of harassment because of their gender.
“David Stroud made it impossible for a woman to get home on the train and today he faces the consequences of his actions.
“This first-of-its-kind conviction proves that through close collaboration across the criminal justice system, we can achieve outcomes like this for more victims and create a safer environment for everyone to be a part of.”
