A 38 year old man with no fixed address has been sentenced at The Old Bailey after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences and stalking against women on and around the London and Surrey rail network, following a detailed investigation by the British Transport Police.

Craig Anthony Anderson was given one year and ten months in prison on 23 March after a trial in January where a jury convicted him of four counts of Sexual Assault and one count of Stalking. He was also made subject to a ten year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prohibits him from approaching, sitting near or standing near lone women and received two restraining orders as part of his sentence.

The court heard that Anderson’s offending began in June 2025 and continued through to October 2025 as he targeted women travelling alone across the railway network. On 14 June, shortly before 4 pm at Bank Underground Station, he followed a young woman up the stairs and tried to engage her in unwanted conversation, asking for her name and phone number before telling her she looked "sexy". When she asked to be left alone he sexually assaulted her, then stuck his tongue out at her and laughed as he walked through the station.

Just over a week later on 26 June, Anderson engaged another young woman in conversation on a train at Guildford, again asking for her social media details. The pair exchanged numbers but he soon began to harass her by text over several weeks. When she declined an invitation to meet up, on 15 July he followed her from Epsom railway station onto the Victoria train, verbally abused her and then tried to snatch her belongings. She was forced to hide in a train toilet at Canary Wharf until he eventually left, and he then continued to send her sexual messages and images until his arrest.

On the morning of 2 August at Liverpool Street station, Anderson approached a woman as she exited and tapped her on the arm while asking where she was going. When she refused to give him her social media details he exclaimed she was "being difficult" and asked to touch her, before sexually assaulting her then walking off. Weeks later on 29 August at Westminster Underground station he approached another woman asking for directions before following her up the escalator and sexually assaulting her, laughing before returning down the escalator.

Then on the evening of 6 October, at Purley railway station he engaged a woman in conversation about directions to Gatwick Airport before choosing to sit beside her on the same train. When she declined to give him her contact details and warned she would report him to police if he tried to kiss her, he sexually assaulted her and blocked her attempt to escape until she was finally able to leave at Redhill station.

BTP officers later identified Anderson from CCTV stills and all the victims were able to point him out during an identification parade as the man responsible for the series of offences. He was arrested during an interview at the Passport Office where he claimed he would soon be leaving the UK. In the police car on the way to custody, and while under caution, Anderson made derogatory remarks about the women he had targeted and denied being at the locations shown on CCTV despite clear evidence to the contrary.

Detective Constable Libby Wildego said,

"Anderson is a dangerous predator who preyed on women for his own sexual gratification. Just as he did throughout the assaults themselves, when we questioned him under caution he smirked throughout and offered no comment, highlighting the sheer lack of remorse for his actions."

She added,

"Despite his own behaviour in court where he voluntarily left before he received his sentence, I hope this result provides some sense of comfort for the victims."

She urged anyone who witnesses or experiences a sexual offence on a train or at a station to report it by texting 61016, saying that every report is taken seriously and the force will pursue offenders.

Anderson’s sentencing marks the conclusion of a five month period of offences that saw women targeted while travelling alone on the transport network, reinforcing the ongoing challenges police face in protecting vulnerable passengers across rail services.