David Johnson has been jailed after a fellow passenger saw him viewing child abuse videos on a train to London and alerted British Transport Police, who arrested him at Euston station.
Johnson, 35, of Francis Chichester Way, Wandsworth, was travelling from Stafford to London on 23 September 2025 when the passenger noticed him exchanging messages before opening videos showing children being abused.
In one exchange, a contact asked Johnson what type of material he wanted. He replied: “Just kids videos.” The passenger, who was sitting behind him, messaged his partner before moving to another carriage and reporting what he had seen using the British Transport Police 61016 text service. ([btp.police.uk](https://www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/news/in-the-courts/man-jailed-after-viewing-child-sex-abuse-on-a-train–london/))
Officers met the train at London Euston and arrested Johnson on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. His phone had an indecent image of a child as its wallpaper.
While in custody, Johnson asked for his property back because he “needed to delete some stuff”. He later gave no comment during police interviews.
Detectives searched two addresses linked to him and seized a number of electronic devices. Analysis of the material recovered found nearly 200 indecent images of children, including 105 classified as Category A, the most serious category. ([btp.police.uk](https://www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/news/in-the-courts/man-jailed-after-viewing-child-sex-abuse-on-a-train–london/))
Messages about a 13-year-old girl
Police also found conversations showing that Johnson believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl and had arranged to meet her for sex.
The messages involved an older woman who claimed to be the girl’s guardian. She said the child had been abandoned as a baby and asked Johnson whether he wanted to sleep with her or have her “forever”. Johnson replied: “Both.”
A proposed contract set out payments totalling £4,500, to be made in instalments over several months. Johnson had planned to meet the supposed girl on the day he was arrested and was carrying condoms and a train ticket.
Police went to an address in Wolverhampton where they believed the child lived, but residents said they knew nothing about her. Investigators later established that neither the girl nor the woman existed and that they were fake identities created by scammers in Nigeria who had been receiving money from Johnson.
Johnson had previously travelled to Wolverhampton to collect the girl, but was told she was ill and asked to return another time.
He pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court to six counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
Johnson was sentenced to two years and three months in prison on 1 April 2026. He was also given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must remain on the sex offenders’ register for a decade. ([btp.police.uk](https://www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/news/in-the-courts/man-jailed-after-viewing-child-sex-abuse-on-a-train–london/))
Detective Constable Victoria Lowth, of British Transport Police, thanked the passenger whose report led to the arrest.
“The quick thinking and courage of the man who saw Johnson’s phone meant that we were able to quickly arrest him and uncover the scale of his offending,” she said.
She added: “Behind every image and video Johnson owned is a vulnerable child that has been exploited and abused. He is clearly a danger to children and has rightly been handed substantial jail sentence, and stringent conditions have been put in place to prevent him from offending further.”
British Transport Police said anyone who witnesses an offence on the railway can report it discreetly by texting 61016. ([btp.police.uk](https://www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/news/in-the-courts/man-jailed-after-viewing-child-sex-abuse-on-a-train–london/))
