Serial Tube Flasher Receives Eight-Month Prison Sentence
A sexual predator who repeatedly exposed himself to lone women traveling on the London Underground has been sentenced to eight months in prison. Matheus Prestes, aged 30, carried out a disturbing campaign of harassment on the Bakerloo line over a four-month period from June to October last year.
Pattern of Predatory Behavior
Prestes admitted to eight separate counts of exposure at Inner London Crown Court earlier this month. His first reported incident occurred around 7pm on Saturday, June 21, when he stepped off a Bakerloo line train at Baker Street station, turned around, and exposed himself while staring at a woman still onboard.
Just days later on June 25, he again exposed himself and began masturbating in front of another woman on a southbound Bakerloo line service. When she threatened to report him to police, he quickly disembarked at Edgware Road station.
Escalating Offenses Across Multiple Stations
The pattern continued throughout the summer months. On Sunday, July 6, around 6pm, Prestes targeted another lone woman on a Bakerloo line train near Kenton. After exposing himself onboard, he got off the train, stood on the platform, and stared at her while masturbating.
Further incidents followed on Tuesday, August 5, when he walked along a Tube carriage before exposing himself to a woman near Lambeth North station. Later that month on Friday, August 22, another woman reported that Prestes had exposed himself to her between Oxford Circus and Waterloo stations before masturbating in her direct line of sight and leaving the train.
Multiple Victims in Single Day
The offending culminated on Saturday, October 11, when Prestes targeted three different women in a single day, all on Bakerloo line trains. In each instance, he exposed himself to a lone female passenger before immediately exiting the train.
Police Praise Victims' Bravery
British Transport Police Sergeant James Ashby commended the courage of the women who came forward to report these incidents. 'Prestes repeatedly targeted women on the London Underground in deliberate and predatory acts,' Ashby stated. 'His behavior was disturbing, persistent, and entirely unacceptable. It is down to these brave women reporting these incidents that we were able to piece together his spree of offending and put him behind bars.'
The police sergeant emphasized that 'this sentence reflects the seriousness of his actions' and reassured passengers that 'we will always take reports of sexual offences seriously, act quickly to identify offenders, and work tirelessly to bring them before the courts.'
The British Transport Police investigation successfully connected the multiple incidents through witness statements and surveillance footage, leading to Prestes's identification and subsequent prosecution. The case highlights ongoing efforts to combat sexual harassment on London's public transport network and the importance of victims reporting such incidents to authorities.
