Nepalese man sentenced for sexual offences against women on Sydney trains

Sydney, Australia, August 31, 2026 — A 49-year-old Nepalese man who committed sexual offences against four women on Sydney trains over a period spanning nearly two decades has been sentenced to a three-year intensive corrections order and 350 hours of community service instead of a prison term.

Dinesh Raj Upreti, who is married with children and previously worked for the NSW Government, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching without consent.

The offences occurred between November 2006 and March 2025.

The court heard that Upreti first targeted a 31-year-old woman on a peak-hour train after boarding at Sydenham Station in November 2006. He pressed himself against the woman and rubbed against her. She later discovered wetness on her clothing and reported the incident to police, who collected a DNA sample from semen found on her trousers.

In October 2007, Upreti approached a crowded train at Central Station and pressed himself against a 25-year-old woman despite other passengers indicating that there was little room. When the woman attempted to move away, he followed her and continued rubbing against her.

Semen was later found on the woman's clothing after she got off at Town Hall Station, providing police with additional forensic evidence.

The next reported offences occurred almost 18 years later, when Upreti sexually touched two other women on public transport in February and March 2025.

Police arrested him after releasing a CCTV image as part of an appeal seeking information about a number of alleged public transport offenders. Investigators subsequently matched his DNA to the February 2025 incident as well as the earlier offences from 2006 and 2007.

During sentencing at the NSW Local Court, Judge John Sfinas rejected Upreti's claim that financial pressure associated with supporting his family in Nepal contributed to his offending.

The judge questioned the relevance of financial difficulties to the offences and said Upreti had acted for his own sexual gratification.