BANNED FROM SITTING NEXT TO WOMEN ON TRAINS
JUDGE BANS SEX ATTACKER FROM SITTING NEXT TO FEMALE RAIL PASSENGERS UNTIL 2027, FOLLOWING ASSAULTS ON SOUTH WALES TRAINS
A SEX attacker has been banned from sitting next to women on any trains in Wales and England for the next 10 years.
Ramzi Hamrouni, 39, was yesterday described by a judge as “every lone female public transport passenger’s nightmare” for his assaults on Barry Island daytrippers.
Referring to sexual assaults on public transport, the judge added: “It is clearly a massive problem nationwide.”
Hamrouni had denied sexually assaulting two female passengers on trains and tried to claim they were lying, but was found guilty by a jury.
Jeffrey Jones, prosecuting at Cardiff Crown Court, said a 20-year-old woman was travelling home on a train with her family from Cardiff to Pontypridd after a day out in Barry on August 16 last year.
Hamrouni got on the train at Cardiff Central and sat next to the victim’s mother, telling her she was beautiful. Mr Jones said he then began to talk to the victim, who noticed he was looking at her breasts and she put her sunglasses on, hoping he would leave her alone.
He said Hamrouni leant his body towards her, pushed his leg against hers and rubbed his arm up against her arm. The court heard she “froze” and was “paralysed with fear and embarrassment”. Mr Jones said she was “trapped” against the carriage window by his body.
He described Hamrouni as “bold and brazen”, touching the woman even though she was with her family.
The court heard he gestured for her to look at his groin as he touched himself, pausing only as the train stopped at stations.
Hamrouni got off the train “quickly” at Pontypridd, leaving the victim “upset”.
Then on September 2, a 17-yearold girl was travelling home with a friend after a day out in Barry and was sitting opposite Hamrouni on the train from Cardiff to Pontypridd.
He was seen on CCTV initially sitting next to another woman who was upset by his behaviour and moved to another carriage.
Hamrouni then went to sit by a different woman, who asked him to move because he had bothered her and a group of female friends in a pub earlier that evening.
The court heard the defendant asked the victim if the train was going to Pontypridd and tried to engage her and her friend in conversation in “broken English”.
Prosecutors said he then moved towards her and “trapped” her against the side of the train before touching her knee and undoing the zip on her jeans.
Mr Jones said the teenager “froze” as he put his finger inside her trousers and pulled up her top.
Judge Stephen Hopkins QC told Hamrouni: “You subjected her to a persistent, degrading and frightening sexual assault.”
Mr Jones said a male passenger was concerned by his behaviour and filmed him on his mobile phone before handing the footage to police.
The court heard the victim alerted the guard as soon as Hamrouni got up, but he had already left the train and was seen to look back from the platform before running away.
Mr Jones said the victim was left “tearful and upset”.
Hamrouni, of Rosser Street, Pontypridd, surrendered himself to police following an appeal on our website, WalesOnline. He was arrested and answered “no comment” to all questions.
The court heard Hamrouni is a Tunisian national who moved to Wales about two years ago after marrying a British woman.
Stephen Thomas, defending, stressed his client had no previous convictions in the UK or in Tunisia.
Mr Thomas said Hamrouni had a “difficult childhood” and received little education.
He said the defendant understood his sentence could trigger deportation and said he did not wish to be a burden on the taxpayer.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Hopkins told him: “You have shown and still show absolutely no remorse for what you did.”
He made a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning Hamrouni from sitting next to any female passenger on a train in England or Wales.
Hamrouni was jailed for 27 months and the judge commended the “courage and dignity” of the victims in giving evidence.