Commuter Who Claimed He Was ‘Alone’ While Masturbating Sentenced

A 29-year-old man has been jailed for one year and eight months after exposing himself and masturbating on a morning commuter train, despite later claiming he believed he was alone. Igor Borges, of Nether Street in Barnet, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Monday 2 February after admitting charges of Exposure and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The court heard that at around 9am on 1 September last year, Borges was travelling on a service from London Bridge to West Croydon when he sat across the aisle from a woman and exposed himself. While staring at her, he began masturbating. The victim became aware of his behaviour after noticing his gaze in the window’s reflection. When she turned and saw what he was doing, he continued.

She immediately dialled 999. In response, Borges placed his finger to his lips in a gesture urging her not to alert anyone. The woman moved to another carriage in an attempt to distance herself, but Borges followed her while apologising. As she made her way through the train, she informed other passengers of what had happened. Fellow travellers intervened, preventing him from continuing to follow her. Borges left the train when it reached West Croydon.

British Transport Police launched an investigation, reviewing on-train CCTV footage which led to Borges being identified. Detectives established that he was already subject to a SHPO imposed in August 2023. The order barred him from making any direct or indirect approach towards a female not known to him in a public place. By committing the offence, he breached that order. He was arrested at his home address two weeks later.

Following his arrest, Borges initially denied responsibility, telling officers they had the wrong person. However, during interview he claimed he believed he was alone on the train at the time of the incident. Faced with the strength of the evidence gathered by detectives, he later changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.

In addition to his custodial sentence, Borges was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and to pay a victim surcharge.

BTP Detective Constable Karim Omer said:

"This is not the first time Borges has been caught for a crime like this, and his far-fetched excuse that he was alone on a train in Central London at 9am did not wash with us. It is thanks to the courage of the victim in reporting his disgusting actions that we have been able to bring him before the courts and put him behind bars, and I hope that this sentence provides the victim a sense of closure. If you experience or witness a sexual offence on-board a train or at a station, I urge you to report it to us by texting 61016. We take every report seriously and will stop at nothing to bring sexual offenders like Borges to justice.”

Image: British Transport Police