THIS is the shocking moment a convicted sex offender was caught on camera stalking a woman working out in a Lewisham gym.
Mohammed Aminu, 28, can be seen sitting behind the victim, watching her as she exercises at NRG Gym in Lewisham High Street.
Aminu pursued the woman around the gym after accessing the facility by coercing another member into letting him into one of the pin-operated entrance security pods.
The brave victim, who filmed Aminu sitting behind her and later hiding behind a wall, was so terrified he would attack her she asked her male friend to come to the gym to escort her home.
She has now shared her footage with the Lewisham Letter in a bid to raise awareness among other women to “trust their gut” when they feel something is wrong.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Lewisham Letter: “I knew he had ill intent.
“He was hiding behind the wall waiting for me. If I had just left the gym without thinking – and hadn’t used my initiative and waited for my friend – he could have followed me out and anything could have happened.
“When I found out he was a convicted sex offender and that he’d already been convicted of stalking it just reinforced the fact that my fears were very valid.
“He’s not learning his lesson. He went to jail before and he’s out doing it again. He needs to be off the streets… before someone is raped, kidnapped or killed.
“I just want to urge everyone to be aware of your surroundings at all times and trust your gut.”
We reported last week how Aminu, of Newlands Park, Sydenham, entered the gym at around 11.30pm on December 27 when the 24-hour gym was not staffed.
He went upstairs after coercing a female member into letting him get in one of the security pods with her to get inside the gym.
The predator then sat behind the victim while she was working out, glaring at her.
His creepy behaviour prompted the victim to take out her phone to film him in a bid to deter him.
She left the area to go down to the women’s only section but Aminu followed her and stared at her in the mirror, prompting her to confront him.
She then walked away a second time, only to later spot him hiding behind a wall in the common area, peeping at her from around the corner.
She told Bromley Magistrates Court last week: “I felt as if I was going to be kidnapped, attacked, raped, killed – who knows.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes. I started panicking and tearing up at this point. I took a video of him because I wanted proof of what he was doing.
“I knew he was going to wait for me to leave and follow me out. And I knew in my heart he had bad intentions.”
As she left the common area to meet her friend at the gym’s entrance she saw Aminu come out from behind the wall.
However, when her friend spotted him following her and confronted him, he smiled and insisted it was all a “misunderstanding”.
He then left the gym via the staff door, which was unlocked.
The victim told the Lewisham Letter: “He shouldn’t have been able to leave the gym. He should have been trapped inside.
“It’s a locked gym but he exited through the main staff door, which had been left unlocked.
“The gym hasn’t taken any accountability for that even after I reported the situation.
“I’m disappointed in the gym. I think they handled the situation poorly.”
She revealed that a manager at the gym had apologised to her and insisted he would improve security at the facility.
However she said the incident did not seem like a “big deal” to the gym.
She added: “It really upset me that he didn’t follow up properly even though I’ve been a member there for years.
“I’m never going back there again because I don’t feel safe and the way they handled it just made it even worse.
“I think the gym should increase their security measures. First of all they should start off by having the main door to the high street locked. There should be a pin system there or some other type of lock.
“And obviously the staff exit door should have been locked. Also he shouldn’t have been able to get into the women’s only area.
“What’s the point of having a women’s only area if anyone can go in there when there are no staff in the gym to police the area?”
The victim added that the police initially failed to record the traumatic episode as a crime when she rang them on the night of the incident.
She said she only discovered this when she visited Lewisham Police Station to follow up on the case after finding out officers had not checked the gym’s CCTV.
“An officer told me the reason they said they wouldn’t go down to the gym to review the CCTV was because it wasn’t initially reported as a crime,” the victim told the Lewisham Letter.
“I said well how did that message come across because I was literally shaking on the phone when I reported it.
“I explained the whole situation again at the police station and she agreed that it was alarming, she didn’t understand why it wasn’t reported as a crime either.
“That’s when they started taking everything seriously. I think it’s ridiculous that it wasn’t recorded properly the first time. If I hadn’t chased it up the crime might never have been investigated.”
The Met was approached for comment.
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Other female members of NRG Gym in Lewisham have also shared safety concerns about the facility since our initial story was published last week.
Some have complained about men drinking alcohol while lying in the hallway between the gym’s high street entrance and the pin-operated security pods.
A spokesman for NRG Gym told the Lewisham Letter: “Whilst we can not comment on the specifics of a case, NRG Gym Limited takes the safety and security of our members, staff, and facilities extremely seriously.
“Safety and security procedures are in place, including magnetically locked entry systems, 24-hour video monitoring, and emergency call points throughout the gyms.
“NRG regularly reviews its security procedures to ensure they meet operational and safety standards, and we remain committed to maintaining a secure environment across all of our facilities.”
The spokesman added that the firm’s security processes had been reviewed and strengthened since the incident, although he would not discuss specific actions taken.
Aminu, who has previous convictions for sex assaults, stalking and possession of a knife, was found guilty of stalking at Bromley Magistrates Court last Friday.
He is due to be sentenced on March 20.