A MILL Hill man who subjected a woman to a 15-minute sexual assault as she slept on a late-night train has been jailed for 18 months today.

Sanjay Vyas, 43, of Marchant Close, attacked the 25-year-old after picking her out on the platform at St Pancras station as they waited for the 3.20am service to St Albans on November 21, 2008.

He boarded a different carriage and then went to find the woman, waking her up before taking off one of her shoes and sock and starting to give her a foot massage.

He then subjected her to a sexual assault before getting off the train at Mill Hill Broadway.

British Transport Police officers identified him from CCTV footage taken at the station and matched his DNA with some recovered from the victim's sock.

At Southwark Crown Court he pleaded not guilty, saying it had been a consensual act, but was convicted by a jury.

Detective Constable Tony Gittins, of the BTP, said: “This was a sickening encounter for the victim.

"Although she did not suffer any physical injuries the emotional and psychological effects of what happened have been huge."

“Offences such as this are not common on the railway and hopefully this conviction, which was made all the more possible by the existence of DNA technology, will help to give the victim some closure on what happened.”

Vyas was ordered to sign on to the Sex Offenders Register for a period of 10 years and was told to pay £2000 in legal costs.