Banned from the Barcelona metro for masturbating and repeatedly rubbing himself against female passengers

BarcelonaThe Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested a young man they had been looking for for more than three years. He is 24 years old and, as the ARA has learned, last Tuesday he was arrested for committing up to eleven acts of exhibitionism and groping women on the Barcelona metro. After appearing before the court, he is subject to a prohibition from approaching the metro for as long as he is not judged.

According to police sources, the man had a modus operandi. Generally, he would wait in the entrances of metro stations, a few meters from the turnstiles where tickets must be validated. At this point in the station, he would begin to masturbate discreetly, watching the female passengers approaching with their cards. The moment they were about to enter through the access turnstile, the man would cling behind them as if he were going to sneak into the metro and would take the opportunity to rub against the passenger or expose his genitals to her. In some cases, he even ejaculated.

The man acted repeatedly in this manner. The first act of exhibitionism took place in September 2022. Although he stopped his criminal activity for a period, in 2024 he did it again on six occasions. Last year he also masturbated and rubbed against passengers on two occasions, and this year – before his arrest – he had already done so twice more. The last case occurred two weeks ago, on March 15.

The investigation by the Mossos, which has been taken over by the Urban Transport Regional Area, has been complicated for several reasons. The first is that, although the accused had a clear pattern of behavior, it was not entirely clear when and where he acted. In fact, he chose Barcelona metro stations in a completely arbitrary manner. There was also no consistency in the times he chose to act: he did so at certain times of the year, on dates that did not coincide and made no sense. Furthermore, he did not prioritize any specific lines of public transport in the city.

Face hidden

The second reason that has complicated the police investigation is that the boy always accessed the metro with a hood and his face was not visible from the various security cameras in the facilities. This is one of the main points that had prevented the Mossos from identifying him for more than three years. Finally, however, in one of the last acts he committed, his face was seen a little, which allowed him to be identified and, subsequently, located. Throughout all this time the police have been following his trail.

The young man had a prior record for a theft offense, and now the Mossos have arrested him for several offenses, one of which for sexual assault, as the touching he carried out falls within this criminal typology in some cases.