Several passengers on a moving train in Pennsylvania watched a man sexually assault a woman last week, but did not intervene, authorities said. The man now faces criminal charges of rape and assault.
Woman is raped on Pennsylvania train while others stand idly by
The assault took place around 11 p.m. on Oct. 13, when the woman was riding an Upper Darby-bound train on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (Septa) Market Frankford Line.
The man, identified as Fiston Ngoy, 35, sat next to the woman and attempted to engage her in conversation.
Over the next few minutes, Ngoy was seen becoming aggressive and harassing her.
When she continued to reject his advances, Ngoy ripped off her clothes, Septa spokesman Andrew Busch said, according to NBC News. The assault, recorded by train surveillance cameras, went on for eight minutes.
Several people on the train failed to act or intervene by calling 911.
The surveillance video showed enough evidence to charge Ngoy with rape and assault, said Timothy Bernhardt, superintendent of the Upper Darby police.
The silence shown by other passengers on the train was disturbing, Bernhardt stressed.
“I’m shocked, I don’t have words for it. I can’t imagine seeing what they were seeing with their own eyes and seeing what this woman was going through that no one stepped in to help her,” Bernhardt maintained.
While there weren’t “dozens of people,” there were enough that “collectively, they could have gotten together and done something,” he added.
A Septa employee who saw the assault was the first to report it by calling 911. “The assault was observed by a Septa employee, who called 911,” Busch said in a statement.
The woman was transported to a hospital and was treated for her injuries following the assault.
