A man who followed a young woman onto a Piccadilly line train before sexually assaulting her has been jailed for a year.
Siljan Lacaj, 33, of Palace Road, Haringey, was sentenced at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 24 September, after being found guilty of sexual assault.
He was also given a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. According to British Transport Police, the order prohibits him from speaking to, approaching or touching women he does not know, and from sitting next to or near any woman. He must also register as a sex offender for 10 years.
The court heard that Lacaj approached the woman as she sat alone on a platform bench at Leicester Square Underground station shortly before 9.30pm on 3 November 2025.
He sat beside her and persistently asked personal questions, before following her onto a train and sitting next to her again.
Two passengers noticed him sexually assaulting her and asked whether she knew him. She shook her head.
Other passengers demanded that Lacaj move away, but he became aggressive. They helped the woman move away from him, and a fight broke out.
An off-duty Metropolitan Police officer intervened and arrested Lacaj.
Detective Constable Dominika Rogers, of British Transport Police, praised the victim’s courage and the two women who stepped in to help protect her.
She said their intervention demonstrated the importance of looking out for others who need help.
BTP urged anyone who experiences or witnesses sexual offending on the railway network to report it by texting 61016.
Source: British Transport Police