A predator who sexually assaulted a string of women who had fallen asleep on night Tubes was finally caught after being jailed for another crime.
Offender identified through police collaboration
Salman Yousaf, 46, was already in prison in 2024 when the Metropolitan Police tipped off British Transport Police (BTP) about his identity and method of offending. BTP then went back through records of crimes where no suspect had been identified and discovered he had committed a series of sexual assaults between 2017 and 2021.
He admitted eight counts of sexual assault and one of outraging public decency, and was jailed for four and a half years at Inner London Crown Court on May 20. He was also told he will spend an additional four years on licence after release. Yousaf was placed on the sexual offenders register for life and placed under a sexual harm prevention order.
How the predator evaded detection
BTP said investigators had not managed to identify him earlier because of a lack of on-train CCTV footage and the fact he had not swiped in or out at ticket barriers when several of the offences were committed. His first crime was around 5am on March 11 2017, when he masturbated in front of a woman on a Central Line service near Stratford.
Yousaf went on to sexually assault another eight women on Central and Jubilee line services, singling out those who were on their own and had fallen asleep on night Tubes.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised a total of nine charges against him. However, as the trial date neared, he changed his plea from not guilty and admitted all of the offences.
Police statement on the case
BTP Detective Constable Iryna Cuthbert said: 'Salman Yousaf is a calculated predator who deliberately exploited the night-time rail network to target lone women, using their isolation to commit a series of premeditated crimes. Even when confronted, he showed a complete lack of remorse - the same absence of remorse he demonstrated at his sentencing.'
'Thanks to the information provided by our colleagues at the Metropolitan Police, we were able to link him to a catalogue of vile sexual offending and ultimately extend his stay behind bars beyond 2030.'
'Yousaf's crimes will have a lasting impact on the women he targeted. I want to acknowledge their bravery in coming forward and reporting what happened, and I hope his sentence brings them some measure of justice.'
