Man accused of sex act on bus wins £5k payout after very wrong ID by cops

Brent Naylor, from Finsbury Park, northbound London, has been awarded a payout aft constabulary arrested him for a enactment enactment connected a autobus contempt him looking precise antithetic to the culprit

A "slim" antheral who was wrongly accused of masturbating connected a autobus by police seeking a culprit with a "rotund brew belly stomach" has been awarded a £5,000 payout.

Brent Naylor, from Finsbury Park, north London, was arrested implicit the incidental aft helium was 'identified' pursuing a Metropolitan Police appeal. But, contempt officers soon realising helium wasn't their man, it was alleged that harm had been done for him arsenic neighbours saw him being arrested.

The 56-year-old says constabulary incompetence successful arresting him for an indecent vulnerability helium did not perpetrate has made him the taxable of verbal and carnal attacks ever since.

Brent, who is disabled, has been assaulted, evicted from his location and adjacent banned from his favourite pub since being handcuffed by six officers astatine his beforehand door, helium claims. He said: “They pinned it each connected maine without really investigating astatine all. It was disgusting. The statement of the feline was six foot.

"I’m 5’8. I’m the slimmest idiosyncratic live and this feline was fat. Now I don’t spot the police. They person enactment my beingness successful danger. They are horrible people." Mr Naylor's ordeal began aft idiosyncratic claimed helium was the antheral successful a witnesser entreaty for indecent vulnerability connected a 393 autobus towards Kentish Town successful May 2021.

The antheral - who was implicit six feet gangly and described arsenic being "chubby" with acheronian brownish hairsbreadth - was reported arsenic having got disconnected successful Islington. When constabulary released a CCTV image, idiosyncratic called up and gave Mr Naylor's name. Despite looking thing similar the antheral successful the shared image, officers arrived unannounced and arrested him successful beforehand of his neighbours. But adjacent aft being cleared of immoderate wrongdoing, Mr Naylor says helium is inactive routinely heckled and threatened successful the street.

Just earlier this Christmas, helium was hospitalised aft being struck implicit the caput with what's believed to person been a bottle. “It’s not nice, getting called a nonce,” said Mr Naylor. "It’s embarrassing. I cognize everyone astir here. There are inactive radical aft me. I was assaulted conscionable earlier Christmas."

After helium was reported, constabulary researched Mr Naylor, revealing helium had abbreviated greying hairsbreadth and was importantly shorter and thinner than the offender. But they listed him arsenic a "viable suspect" anyway. Then, successful November 2021, helium was paid a sojourn by arresting officers.

"Six constabulary officers turned up connected my doorstep," Mr Naylor explained. "They said they had a hunt warrant for my place. It was a implicit shock.” Mr Naylor is registered arsenic disabled owed to nail-patella syndrome, a uncommon familial upset that causes changeless problems with his bones and joints.

“I can’t straighten my arms,” helium said, adding that being handcuffed had caused long-lasting pain. They knew I was disabled. Why handcuff maine astatine all? There were six of them and 1 of me." It was lone aft he’d been successful custody for much than 7 hours that a much elder serviceman looked astatine him and realised helium didn't lucifer the fishy astatine all.

Police documents said the fishy was of "large build, with a rotund brew belly stomach". Whereas, officers recorded Mr Naylor arsenic being "very slim, with a 26 to 28-inch waist".

“It took [the elder officer] 2 seconds to realise it wasn’t me," Mr Naylor said. "How could the others deliberation it was me?" He was instantly released. However, his ordeal was acold from over, arsenic neighbours had witnessed his arrest. Mr Naylor says that pursuing his arrest, his landlord served him with an eviction notice, and helium was besides aboriginal threatened by a pack of men who "frog-marched" him retired of his favourite pub.

After that, helium said, helium was barred from the boozer - not due to the fact that unit thought helium was guilty, but due to the fact that they said they "couldn’t warrant my safety". Mr Naylor admitted the injustice inactive upsets him. “Why should I leave?” helium said. “If they origin trouble, they should beryllium barred. Why me? I’ve been stalked. People followed maine home, calling maine a nonce – and I had done thing wrong.”

Just a fewer weeks ago, helium was cracked implicit the caput with what is believed to person been a vessel successful an onslaught successful the street. “I can’t retrieve getting hit," Mr Naylor explained. "I conscionable woke up successful the infirmary and saw humor connected the bed." Despite the superior assault, Mr Naylor says helium didn't fuss calling the police.

“I person nary religion successful their quality to analyse it properly,” helium said. Mr Naylor aboriginal took ineligible enactment against the Met Police, hiring lawyers from MK Law to combat his case. MK Law caseworker Duncan Burtwell said: "[Mr Naylor] is an perfectly beauteous feline and, astatine the clip this each happened, was intelligibly besides a susceptible person.

“There was a wide and evident mode of distinguishing him from the suspect, specified that helium shouldn’t person been arrested if the constabulary had conducted their task with owed diligence." The suit besides revealed that constabulary officers had failed to unafraid humor and semen samples near connected the autobus by the existent offender, which volition marque it harder to drawback him going forward.

The Met precocious settled Mr Naylor's lawsuit retired of court, paying him £5,000 successful damages arsenic good arsenic his ineligible costs. But helium says it was "never astir the money", adding: “It was much of a cause. In my opinion, it’s abuse. The constabulary abused me. I inactive get nightmares and panic attacks. I perceive constabulary sirens spell by and I deliberation they’re coming for me."

Meanwhile, the offender remains astatine ample and Mr Naylor worries his offending could escalate arsenic a effect of him getting distant with the 2021 incident. The Met said it had paid damages "without admittance of liability". A spokesperson said: "There was nary grounds of immoderate serviceman wrongdoing oregon misconduct." The unit property bureau said it was not alert of immoderate further arrests implicit the autobus incident.