A serial train masturbator was caught red-handed just 12 days after being released – and is now back behind bars.
James Gathercole was nicked for exposing himself to a lone woman on a train, despite being ordered not to approach women on their own for any reason.
The 40-year-old was on board a London to East Grinstead train when a female passenger entered the carriage.
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The victim noticed him staring at her from a nearby seat.
After the carriage emptied at East Croydon, James fully exposed himself and started masturbating while looking at the lone woman.
The shocked victim left the train at Upper Warlingham station where she reported his actions to rail staff, who immediately contacted British Transport Police.
Officers boarded the train at East Grinstead, where they found the serial masturbator asleep on board, as reported by Need To Know.
James was arrested on the spot in July last year, with checks revealing he was in breach of an existing Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and his license conditions, following his release from prison a mere 12 days earlier.
The 40-year-old had been jailed in July 2024 for two separate incidents on the same day where he exposed himself to women and masturbated.
Both occurred on trains in London on 26 May, 2024.
He was subsequently issued with a 10-year SHPO, which banned him from making any form of contact with a lone woman or using public transport without a valid payment method.
On 15 July, 2025, he breached both of these rules as well as breaking his prison release license on 9 July, 2025 by not being in his property after 7pm.
Last Monday (2 Feb), James pleaded guilty to two counts of exposure as well as being in breach of an SHPO and the conditions of his prison release licence.
The second count of exposure related to a separate incident on a train in South London way back on 4 June 2024.
The 40-year-old was handed two years and four months in prison at Lewes Crown Court.
Jean-Pierre Choolhun, BTP detective constable, said: “It is entirely right that, following our investigation, James Gathercole is now back in custody. There is absolutely no place for this sickening behaviour in our society.
“We take all reports of sexual offending extremely seriously, and this case demonstrates that commitment.
“Our officers acted immediately, intercepting the train and arresting Gathercole shortly after the report was made.”
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