Babatunde Odutola Jailed for 44 Weeks After Sexual Act on Train in Manchester

A 36-year-old man, Babatunde Odutola, has been sentenced to 44 weeks in prison after exposing himself and masturbating in front of a woman on a train travelling through Cheshire towards Manchester.

The incident happened on September 11, 2026, and resulted in an arrest when the train reached Manchester Piccadilly. Odutola appeared before Manchester Magistrates’ Court three days later and pleaded guilty to outraging public decency and breaching a suspended sentence order.

The case is notable not only because of what happened aboard the train, but because investigators used CCTV and witness accounts to build the case rapidly, resulting in the sentencing within 72 hours of the incident.

According to British Transport Police (BTP), the incident began at about 7pm on Friday, September 11, while Odutola was travelling through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly.

Police said he approached a woman travelling alone, looked her up and down and became aggressive after she did not engage with him.

He then exposed himself while sitting in a wheelchair and masturbated while looking towards the woman and telling her to “come over”.

Another passenger escorted the woman from the carriage after becoming distressed by what was happening. CCTV subsequently showed Odutola continuing the behaviour while other passengers moved through the carriage.

Police arrested him after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly.

The investigation subsequently relied on CCTV footage and witness accounts, according to BTP. The force said Odutola initially denied the allegations during a police interview but later pleaded guilty in court.

The court sentenced him on September 14 to 44 weeks' imprisonment in total for the public-decency offence and breach of a suspended sentence order.

Why the charge matters

The offence for which Odutola pleaded guilty is not simply a description created by police or the media.

Outraging public decency is a common-law offence in England and Wales. The Crown Prosecution Service says it covers a public act of a lewd, obscene or disgusting nature that outrages public decency.

The distinction is relevant because English law also contains a separate statutory offence of exposure under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. CPS guidance explains that exposure requires an intentional act of exposing the genitals with the intention that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress. Where the circumstances do not fit that statutory offence, prosecutors can consider outraging public decency.

In this case, however, the court proceedings resulted in a guilty plea to outraging public decency, meaning there is no need for Superior News to speculate about why prosecutors selected that charge.

The CPS continues to recognise outraging public decency as a common-law offence. The Law Commission has previously examined whether such offences should be replaced with clearer statutory provisions, highlighting longstanding questions about the structure of the offence.

The role of CCTV and witnesses

One of the clearest features of the case is the amount of evidence described by investigators.

The BTP said CCTV captured Odutola continuing the sexual behaviour in the carriage, while several witness accounts also formed part of the evidence.

That evidence became particularly significant after police said Odutola denied the allegations during his interview.

His subsequent guilty plea meant the case did not have to proceed to a contested trial over the allegations described by police.

The available public statement does not provide the complete CCTV footage, witness statements or a transcript of the police interview, so those materials cannot independently be assessed from the information currently available.

A previous suspended sentence

The September 14 sentence also involved a breach of a suspended sentence order.

That detail establishes that the 44-week sentence was not solely connected to the new incident. The court imposed the sentence after Odutola pleaded guilty to both the public-decency offence and the breach.

BTP also described Odutola as an existing registered sex offender.

However, the police statement does not provide details of the earlier offence or explain when the suspended sentence was imposed. Those details therefore remain outside what can responsibly be established from the currently available public material.

Why the case moved so quickly

The chronology is unusually compressed:

September 11: The incident occurs on a train travelling towards Manchester.

September 11: Police arrest Odutola when the train reaches Manchester Piccadilly.

September 14: He appears before Manchester Magistrates’ Court and pleads guilty.

September 14: He receives a total sentence of 44 weeks.

September 17: British Transport Police publicly announces the case.

BTP described the investigation as having led to the imprisonment within 72 hours of the incident.

The available evidence indicates that the rapid progression was supported by CCTV and witness evidence, although the police statement does not provide a detailed timeline of every investigative step between the arrest and court appearance.

Several details have not been publicly established in the sources reviewed by Superior News.

They include:

The precise details of Odutola's previous conviction or convictions.

The circumstances surrounding the suspended sentence he breached.

The full breakdown of the 44-week sentence between the two offences.

Whether any additional charges were considered or ruled out.

The identity of the train service or specific carriage.

The full contents of the CCTV and witness evidence.

Further information about the woman involved, whose identity has not been released.

There is also no reliable primary-source evidence establishing that Odutola is Nigerian. Some secondary reports have described him that way, but the BTP statement identifies him as 36 and of no fixed address without stating his nationality. Superior News therefore should not describe him as Nigerian unless a reliable source establishes that fact.

The publicly confirmed criminal proceedings described by BTP have already resulted in the 44-week sentence.

The police have also used the case to remind passengers that sexual offences on Britain's railway network can be reported to British Transport Police, including through the force's 61016 text-reporting service.

For now, the central documented outcome is the conviction following Odutola's guilty plea and the 44-week prison sentence.

The unresolved part of the case concerns the circumstances of his previous offending and suspended sentence, information that has not been provided in the police statement currently available.