A SEX beast attacked women as young as 17 on trains across Manchester, a court heard.
Mohammed Ismail, 39, groped two victims who boarded trains from Manchester Piccadilly station during last summer's heatwave.
But Ismail, from Bolton, Greater Manchester claimed it was a case of mistaken identity after he was arrested.
He faces jail after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and was banned from travelling on trains without authorisation from cops.
The predator – who has three previous convictions for sexual offences, including assault on a female under 16 – targeted victims after sitting next to them despite other seats being available, Manchester Magistrates Court heard.
One 17-year-old girl said Ismail assaulted her between Manchester and Bolton on a hot summer day in 2018.
She was wearing shorts when Ismail sat next to her and began stroking her leg.
He so close that when he began to stroke his own thigh she felt it rubbing against hers, the court heard.
VICTIM SUFFERING FLASHBACKS
The 17-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court the assault caused her to suffer flashbacks.
She said she feels scared every time a stranger sits next to her.
She said: "Since this happened I don't sleep very well. I have flashbacks and panic attacks about what happened.
"Sometimes it feels like only yesterday that it happened."
The woman was sat on a three-seat row when Ismail boarded the train at Manchester Oxford Road.
She added: "He sat quite close to me which I thought was quite strange as both the other two seats were free and if there is space, people usually tend to distance themselves."
The woman told the court that Ismail began to move closer and closer to her before they both "made contact".
He was so close he was touching me. He touched my thigh and rubbed it up and down from the top of knee to the pelvis area
"He was so close he was touching me. He touched my thigh and rubbed it up and down from the top of knee to the pelvis area – so, the full length of it.
"I moved his hand away and he put his hand back on it again.
"I felt so vulnerable and trapped. I was in disbelief really, you don't think this kind of thing is going to happen to you."
The assault only stopped when she moved away from Ismail and asked for help from a female passenger.
TRAIN ATTACKER
A second victim was travelling from Piccadilly on a separate occasion when Ismail boarded the train at Oxford Road.
The woman said she had been sitting on a two-seat row next to the window when Ismail sat down next to her and began asking questions.
She told the court: "He [Ismail] asked me for the time which I thought was quite weird as when you board a train you tend to know the time."
"After that he didn't speak but after a while he started asking me questions like where I had been and where I was going."
The woman added: "I tried to keep my answers fairly abrupt but he then asked me a few times if I was getting off at Bolton.
"The questions were actually more unsettling than the touching because it almost felt like a script."
Following a one-day trial, magistrates convicted Ismail of two counts of sexual assault.
Ismail will appear for sentence at Manchester Crown Square Crown Court on Monday 27 May.
MEN Media4
MEN Media4Source: Read Full Article