As a Woman Was Raped, SEPTA Riders Failed to Intervene, Police Say

As a pistillate was being raped portion connected a bid adjacent Philadelphia connected Wednesday night, riders watched, failed to intervene and did not telephone 911, the authorities said.

A antheral whom officials identified arsenic Fiston Ngoy sat down adjacent to a pistillate astatine astir 10 p.m. connected a bid that was traveling westbound connected the Market-Frankford Line toward the 69th Street Transportation Center. Mr. Ngoy “attempted to interaction her a fewer times,” said Andrew Busch, a spokesperson for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, known arsenic SEPTA.

The pistillate pushed backmost and tried to halt Mr. Ngoy from touching her, Mr. Busch said. “Then, unfortunately, helium proceeded to rip her apparel off,” Mr. Busch said connected Sunday.

The battle lasted astir 8 minutes, and nary passengers successful the bid car intervened, the authorities said.

“I’m appalled by those who did thing to assistance this woman,” Timothy Bernhardt, the superintendent of the Upper Darby Township Police Department, said connected Sunday. “Anybody that was connected that bid has to look successful the reflector and inquire wherefore they didn’t intervene oregon wherefore they didn’t bash something.”

Mr. Ngoy, 35, was charged with rape, intersexual battle and aggravated indecent battle without consent, among different crimes, tribunal records show.

Several passengers were successful the bid car but Mr. Bernhardt declined to accidental however many; investigators were inactive moving to find the nonstop number, helium said. While determination were not “dozens of people” successful the car astatine the time, Mr. Bernhardt said, determination were capable that, “collectively, they could person gotten unneurotic and done something.”

He added that investigators had received reports of immoderate passengers signaling the onslaught connected their phones but that the constabulary had not confirmed those reports.

Eventually, a proscription authorization worker got connected the train, saw what was happening and called 911, Mr. Busch said.

Then, a “police serviceman ran onto the bid and caught this antheral successful the enactment and took him into custody,” Mr. Busch said.

The surveillance footage that the authorities are reviewing does not incorporate audio, Mr. Bernhardt said. But based connected the footage that helium had reviewed, it was wide that passengers had an accidental to intervene, helium said.

The pistillate told the authorities what had happened aft Mr. Ngoy was successful custody, Mr. Bernhardt said. She was taken to a hospital, the authorities said.

“What this pistillate endured astatine the hands of this guy, what she’s been capable to supply for us, it’s been unbelievable,” Mr. Bernhardt said.

The authorities said Mr. Ngoy was stateless and was not equipped during the attack. He was being held astatine the Delaware County Jail successful lieu of $180,000 bail and did not person a lawyer arsenic of Sunday afternoon.

Bystanders connected the bid who failed to intervene could beryllium criminally charged if they recorded the attack, Mr. Bernhardt said, adding that it would beryllium up to the Delaware County territory attorney’s bureau to marque specified a determination aft the constabulary decorativeness their probe and taxable their findings.

It was not instantly wide what those charges could be, and Mr. Bernhardt said helium did not privation to speculate. He added that Pennsylvania does not person a bully Samaritan instrumentality and said it would beryllium “very hard to bring charges against those” who witnessed the onslaught but did not intervene.

A typical from the territory attorney’s bureau could not beryllium reached connected Sunday.

SEPTA said reports of intersexual battle are rare, with thefts and robberies accounting for astir of the crimes that are reported connected its trains. It does not person an serviceman riding connected each train. The Market-Frankford enactment carries astir 90,000 radical connected an mean weekday, Mr. Busch said.

“We truly bash anticipation that radical volition work astir this, volition spot the stories connected TV, and volition deliberation astir helping with the efforts to forestall incidents similar this from happening,” helium said.