Man committed indecent act on public transport
Girl victim who was followed on bus caught pervert on camera
APERVERT who performed an indecent act in front of a teenage girl on a bus from Runcorn to Widnes then did the same thing on another bus has left custody after serving his three-month prison sentence on remand.
Jurors convicted Eshmael Hesen El Marghani, 37, of Halton YMCA, Runcorn, of outraging public decency on Tuesday after receiving evidence including a video clip filmed on the victim’s phone.
During trial on Monday, the jury watched the footage.
Paulinus Barnes, prosecuting, told the court how El Marghani had boarded the 14A bus from Runcorn High Street at about 12.30pm on February 6 and sat on the higher level of seating behind and to the other side of his victim.
The girl caught a glimpse in her peripheral vision of the defendant performing the indecent act
Testifying to the court, the victim, 17, said the bus stopped at Widnes Morrisons, and she exited vehicle and moved to wait further away from El Marghani who had also emerged from the 14A.
She felt ‘scared’ and ‘worried’ and when she mistook the No. 62 bus for her own transport, she stepped forward, appearing to prompt the defendant to try to flag down the 62. She then waited and boarded the 26A.
El Marghani followed and sat near the front, then moved to sit behind her on the slightly raised seating. Legs apart, he continued to perform an indecent act. The girl said she switched her phone to selfie mode and turned the brightness down to evade detection, and filmed him over her shoulder. When she reached her destination and left, El Marghani remained on the bus.
She put a picture from the clip on Facebook to warn others. Her mother contacted the police.
Mr Barnes said that when arrested El Marghani told police he was aroused.
Charlotte Johnson, defending, cited expert medical evidence that vehicle vibrations can cause arousal.
Jurors convicted El Marghani of outraging public decency by committing a lewd, obscene or disgusting act in public.