Islington residents say they are afraid to use night buses after a bus driver’s “horrible” sexual attack on a sleeping female passenger.
Murat Yilmaz, 44, was jailed for a year after his assault on the 24-year-old victim was caught on CCTV in the early hours of 24 May.
Yilmaz’s attack, which took place on a 134 double-decker, has left locals shaken. Many admitted that they would think twice before using a bus late at night.
“It’s a horrible story,” said Sarah Aitchinson, 23, who has lived in Hillrise for nearly four years. “Public transport is dangerous enough late at night.
“When I’m on a quiet bus at night, it’s normally the driver’s presence that makes me feel safe.”
Joanne Longman, also from Hillrise, agreed that the bus driver had abused his position of responsibility.
“It is terrifying to think that the attack came from someone who we are supposed to trust,” said Longman, 45.
“I rarely use the bus late at night and I certainly will not be anytime soon.”
The Roads and Transport Policing Command Sexual Offences Team, who led the investigation, obtained the damning CCTV footage from the bus that led to Yilmaz being identified.
Chief Superintendent Matt Bell said: “Sexual assaults on the transport network will not be tolerated and anyone who commits such offences will be caught and prosecuted.
“This was a particularly despicable attack, and we will do all in our power to prevent another such incident from happening again.”
Yilmaz, of Copenhagen Street, Islington, attacked the woman after pulling his bus into a stand at the end of his route.
A spokesperson for Transport for London said: “We are pleased to see that the bus driver responsible for this despicable offence, who abused his position, has been brought to justice.
“All of our customers deserve the right to feel safe and be safe when travelling in London which is why we continue to work closely with the police to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on our network.
“We urge anyone who has been subjected to this type of behaviour to report it so that the police can, as they have in this instance, investigate and prosecute the perpetrator, so together we can eradicate crime on our network.”
