A man has been found guilty after he targeted a 13-year-old girl in an “abhorrent” attack on a train by trapping her to her seat.
Abdulmanon Aliev, 50, s3xually assaulted the girl during a train journey out of Southend to London on June 16, 2025, after blocking her escape from her seat.
Aliev, a Tajikistan national living on Rye Lane, Peckham, first sat opposite the girl on the London-bound train and tried to speak to her using a translator app on her phone. The victim quickly moved away from him and onto another seat elsewhere, but this didn’t deter the predator, a court heard.
Aliev sat next to her on the aisle seat, blocking her in by the window. He then subjected her to a prolonged s3xual assault until the train arrived at London Fenchurch Street station, where the girl was able to get away from her tormentor.
She managed to board another train while Aliev stayed at the station.
Other passengers discovered the girl in a distressed state, and she bravely told them what had happened before the police were alerted.
Detectives went through hours of CCTV footage to track Aliev’s movements. A manhunt ended when plainclothes officers spotted him in Peckham, south London, and caught him. Forensic teams found the clothes he wore during the attack when searching his home.
British Transport Police’s Detective Constable Elizabeth Cahill said: “Aliev singled out a vulnerable child and subjected her to one of the most abhorrent s3xual assaults I’ve ever investigated.
“While the focus of attention will rightly be on him as the despicable sexual predator that he is, I want to pay tribute to the brave victim who reported him to police.
‘This verdict would not have been possible without her account of what happened and her willingness to support our investigation.
“We take every s3xual offence report extremely seriously, and we’ll stop at nothing to put offenders like Aliev before the courts.”
He appeared at Inner London Crown Court, where he was found guilty of two counts of assault by penetration, three counts of s3xual assault and attempted r@pe yesterday.
Aliev is due to be sentenced on June 17, 2026.