This is the first image of a sexual predator dubbed the Clapham Common Prowler who was caught groping teenage girls as they walked home alone from school.
John Nyhan, 22, carried out attacks on three separate occasions in January and early February after researching school closing times and lurking in areas where girls would be walking.
In each attack, Nyhan came up behind the girls, put his hand up their skirts, and grabbed hold of their bottoms before fleeing.
Nyhan was due to be sentenced this week at Kingston crown court, with the father of one of the girls set to deliver a victim impact statement.
But Judge Georgina Kent was forced to abandon the hearing and delay sentencing until next month after a lawyer submitted a late psychological report on Nyhan.
The Metropolitan Police have now issued an image of airport worker Nyhan, who has been in custody since his arrest in February.
At his first appearance in the magistrates court, he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and a fourth charge of harassment towards a 13-year-old girl.
The court heard Nyhan, a kitchen assistant who worked at Gatwick Airport, targeted the youngest girl as she was walking home on January 8 at around 4.50pm.
He walked up behind her, increasing his pace to try to get close, but she ultimately she managed to reach her front door and “rush“ inside.
Around twenty minutes later, Nyhan targeted a second schoolgirl who was also walking home alone.
“He came up behind her, put his hand up her skirt, and grabbed her buttocks, pushing her forward slightly“, said prosecutor Fiona Hamilton.
“He then ran off in the direction of Clapham Common.“
Nyhan struck again on January 23, at around 5.45pm when the girl had just got off the bus home from school.
She “noticed a dark shadow on the ground getting closer to her, and she suddenly felt someone lift up her skirt and grab her buttocks from behind“, said Ms Hamilton.
The third sexual assault happened at around 4.45pm on February 4, when Nyhan was again lurking in the area of Clapham Common.
He lifted a girl’s skirt, pulled down her shorts, and grabbed her bottom, in an assault which was caught on CCTV.
The magistrates court was told Nyhan, who has no previous convictions, had “concerning“ evidence on his phone which indicated an intense interest in preying on vulnerable schoolgirls on their way home from school.
He had searched online for school closing times and researched the locations of CCTV cameras, while he also had images of girls in school uniform.
Ahead of the crown court hearing, a probation worker assessed Nyhan and recommended in the final report that he should be dealt with as a dangerous offender, who would put girls at risk in the future.
However the report was drawn up without the defence’s psychological assessment, which was only submitted to the court’s computer system ten minutes before the court hearing was due to start.
“I’m deeply embarrassed”, said defence barrister David Langwallner. “It’s completely unsatisfactory”, before calling his instructing solicitor “cavalier”.
Judge Kent put the sentencing hearing back until September 11, telling the court: “The defendant is in custody and remains in custody, so the public is currently protected by this fact.
“The delay is unsatisfactory, but I think I’ve no choice.”
Nyhan, of Ingrave Street, Wandsworth, was remanded back into custody.
