A MAN who sexually assaulting assaulted a teenage schoolgirl has been jailed for 15 months and placed on the Sexual Offenders' Register for 10 years.
Harvinder Singh, 24, of Southall, west London was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court to nine months' imprisonment for sexual assault, and 15 months' imprisonment for causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
He pleaded guilty to the charges, and the sentences are to run concurrently. Singh has also been placed on the sexual offenders register for 10 years and will be deported to India on completion of his sentence.
Singh's identification and conviction was the result of a successful and thorough investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service's Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC), which is part funded by Transport for London (TfL).
Singh committed the offence in the early hours of Wednesday February 11. A 15-year-old girl was on her way to school on a bus between Hounslow and Southall. Singh sat next to her and began to touch her before forcibly making her commit acts of a sexual nature.
The victim managed to press the 'stop' button and got away from Singh. She left the bus but Singh also got off and followed her as far as her school where she was able to report the incident.
Police attended the victim and secured vital DNA evidence. The offence was then thoroughly investigated by the RTPC who identified Singh through on-bus CCTV and arrested him the following day.
Singh gave a no comment interview but was charged with sexual assault and remanded in custody where he remained until his trial.
Detective Superintendent Adnan Qureshi, MPS Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: "This was an excellent result, which has seen the perpetrator of an appalling crime receive a lengthy time in jail and deportation on release.
"If you commit an offence on the transport network, we will pursue and arrest you."
Steve Burton, TfL's Director of Enforcement and On-Street Operations, said: "We take crimes of this nature incredibly seriously. Thanks to the bravery of this victim in reporting this terrible offence the MPS were able to track down and subsequently help convict this predatory criminal. We will continue to work closely with our policing partners to rid our transport network of this kind of behaviour.
"If anyone experiences any unwanted sexual behaviour on our transport network, I would urge them to report it to the police by texting 61016 or calling 101. As this case shows we are successfully prosecuting offenders on the network and all reports will be thoroughly investigated."
