A French hotel worker who rubbed himself against a student on the Tube 16 years ago has been jailed after a DNA breakthrough.
Jacques Deza Dja, 43, assaulted the 24-year-old commuter on a packed carriage on the Victoria Line on 26 August 2008.
The woman reported the attack to police and a DNA sample was taken from her clothes.
Deza Dja fled to France and carried out another sexual assault in Paris in October 2021, Southwark Crown Court heard.
He was finally arrested for assaulting the woman on the London Underground in July.
The victim boarded the Victoria Line at Green Park station at around 6pm
Kate Jenkin, prosecuting, told the court: ‘The victim was 24 at the time. She got onto the London Underground on the Victoria Line at Green Park station at around 6pm.
‘It was very crowded and she was forced to stand against a glass panel in the carriage.’
‘As the train started moving she felt something making contact with her lower back and the top of her bottom.
‘It got stronger as the journey went on. She said she felt uneasy.
‘The incident lasted between three and five minutes. She didn’t like what had happened.
‘It wasn’t until 30 April this year that a communication was received by British Transport Police, indicating a DNA hit from the French police.
‘I believe that was through Interpol.’
Jacques Deza Dja, 43, assaulted the 24-year-old commuter on a packed carriage on the Victoria Line on 26 August 2008. Stock photo
Chris Bealey, defending, claimed Deza Dja had not exposed himself during the assault.
‘The defendant’s account is that he had a hole in his trousers.
‘The defendant said he was shocked when it happened.’
The judge, Mr Recorder Simon Stirling interjected: ‘That is a wholly unrealistic suggestion to make. Quite by chance he had a hole in his trousers…You have to be realistic about this.’
Mr Bealey continued: ‘He lives in Paris and he works in Paris. He has a girlfriend in the UK.
‘The most significant factor in this case is the offence took place. It is now over 16 years since the incident, and although he has a conviction from 2021, that is a significant portion of his life that should be taken into account when passing any sentence.’
Sentencing Deza Dja, the judge said: ‘You were on the Victoria Line on the Tube when you went behind a 24-year-old student.
‘The victim of your offending felt that. It made her feel uneasy and scared, and she started moving away, but you persisted.
‘It seems that one way or another, your penis must have been exposed.
‘This must have been a busy train with a lot of people present, because the victim described crowded it was and how it forced her to stand against a glass partition.
‘This was clearly an offence committed in public.’
Deza Dja, of Paris, admitted one count of sexual assault.
He was jailed for six months.
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