Man faces jail after trying to lick woman's ankles on train

An eccentric Italian man who laughed as a court heard how he tried to lick a woman's ankles has been warned he faces a possible jail sentence. Carlos Spigno, 50, of Erith, South East London, rubbed the train passenger's feet ignoring her pleas to stop. He lurched forward to lick her ankles then thrust his hand up her skirt.

It was only when the woman hit him and threatened to call the police that Spigno ran off, clutching his bottles of wine and brandy. He insisted the woman had allowed him to fondle her feet but was convicted by the jury at Blackfriars Crown Court. Spigno had infuriated Judge Peter Clarke by turning up an hour late for court and blamed 'the wind' for slowing down his bicycle. When his offence was being described Spigno yelled: 'All this talk is not relevant' and was told he would be sent to the cells if his outbursts continued.



The court heard his victim was travelling towards Charing Cross station from a house viewing in Peckham when she put her feet up on the seat opposite. Spigno stumbled into the carriage to sit opposite her and started hurling 'obnoxious and drunken' abuse when she said she was from Wales. The 'overt and sinister' touching began after another female passenger left the train. He started to rub her leg around the ankles and then moved towards her skirt.

He fled at Waterloo East station but was later arrested for the sexual assault. Spigno admitted he did touch the woman's leg but insisted it was consensual. He was found guilty of two charges of sexual assault after the jury deliberated for over eight hours. After the jury's verdict the judge ordered a psychiatric report on Spigno. He will have to sign the Sex Offenders Register even though he has not been sentenced as he has been found guilty of a sexual assault. He will be sentenced on July 12, having been warned a custodial sentence is a possibility.