A man has been jailed after robbing a deaf woman in her 80s on the escalators of Westminster Underground station, following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.
Liam McGuicken, 53 (05/09/1971), and of no fixed address, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Friday 1 August to 16 months imprisonment, having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
The court heard how on Tuesday 15 April 2025, McGuicken approached the elderly victim as she travelled down the escalators and towards the platform. Following behind, her companion, who was also deaf, was unaware of what was occurring behind them.
McGuicken put his hands against the victim’s chest, pinning her against the handrail. The victim couldn’t hear what he was saying to her, but turned her face away in fear.
McGuicken reached into the victim’s coat pocket and stole her wallet before getting off of the escalator at the bottom and immediately getting the escalator back up.
As he was on the escalator, station CCTV footage showed him rifling through the wallet he had just stolen.
McGuicken was arrested a month later at Sutton railway station after he was stopped by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service in connection with a fare evasion issue.
Detective Inspector Alan Judd said: “McGuicken sickeningly targeted an elderly deaf woman as she was making her way through the station, cowardly choosing to target a vulnerable woman for his own gain.
“I’m very pleased with the result, and I sincerely hope McGuicken takes this opportunity to change. His conviction sends a strong message, that robbery will not be tolerated on the railway network.”
“We take all reports of robbery extremely seriously, and would urge anyone who was the victim of a robbery or who witnessed one to contact us. You can speak to a member of staff or to an officer, call us on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016.”
