A man found guilty of a series of sex attacks on women across Harrow and Ealing has been jailed.

Sinuthujaan Yoganathan, 33, of St Margaret's Avenue, Harrow, was sentenced to a total of nine years' imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, September 14.

The court heard how between April and July 2016, five women were sexually assaulted by a man in the Perivale, Northolt and Harrow areas. The defendant targeted lone women late at night in order to sexually assault them. On one occasion he attempted to sexually assault a sixth victim.

One attack - committed in Eastcote Lane, South Harrow, on July 10, 2016 - was caught on CCTV and shows Yoganathan walk past the victim and then watch her from his car for more than 20 minutes before sexually assaulting her when she walked into a secluded area off the main road.

Whilst the method and the description of the suspect led police to link the attacks, there was no DNA evidence recovered that could identify a suspect.

In one attack a car was found to have been used by the suspect - a white Audi A6 saloon. On August 14, 2016, officers on patrol of the area affected by the attacks saw a white Audi A6. They stopped the car and its driver - identified as Yoganathan - was subsequently arrested in connection with the investigation.

In a search of his home address, officers recovered a distinctive Scotland football shirt that matched the T-shirt that the suspect was wearing in the CCTV of the July 10 offence.

Five of the victims subsequently positively identified Yoganathan as their attacker.

In interview, Yoganathan could give no explanation for being identified as the attacker in five of the offences, and said the victims were mistaken. During his trial, he gave a completely different version of events to what he had said to police in interview.

In particular, when shown CCTV of his car in the area of attacks, and asked to explain how his football shirt matched the description of that worn by the attacker, he attempted to blame someone he knew, saying he had access to his cars and clothes. However, he later admitted that he was the person in the CCTV.

Detective Inspector Tom Williams, who led the investigation, said: "This sentence shows how seriously the court takes these types of offences. I would like to once again commend the victims on their courage throughout the investigation and trial.

“The defendant has shown no remorse and denied the offences throughout, changing his account to fit the evidence. The jury saw through his lies and found him guilty of these attacks.

"It is possible that there may be other, unreported victims of Yoganathan, or even similar attacks. We would urge them to come forward, and be assured that we will thoroughly investigate any offences reported to us.”

Yoganathan was found guilty of five sexual assaults and one attempted sexual assault following a three-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, June 5.

As well as the custodial sentence, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was granted by the judge with various conditions to control Yoganathan’s behaviour when released from prison.