Woman Raped On Pennsylvania Train | Her Clothes Were Ripped Apart But Passengers Watched And Did Nothing To Help

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on October 19, 2021. It has since been updated.

Trigger Warning; This story mentions sexual assault that may be disturbing to readers. 

Though there were several people aboard a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train (SEPTA), no one intervened or called 911, even as they witnessed a woman being sexually assaulted. The harrowing incident was caught on camera, and it is being reviewed by authorities, Timothy Bernhardt, Superintendent of the Upper Darby Township Police Department told The New York Times.

As for the incident,  SEPTA tells PEOPLE it was a "horrendous criminal act" and urged "anyone who observes a crime being committed or any dangerous situation occurring to report it."

A man, who police identified as Fiston Ngoy, allegedly sat down next to the woman on a train traveling westbound on the Market-Frankford Line and allegedly attempted to touch her, SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said. The woman pushed back and tried to get Ngoy to stop touching her, but he went on to rip apart her clothes. “Then, unfortunately, he proceeded to rip her clothes off,” Busch added. 

Then, a transportation authority employee boarded the train, saw what was happening, and reported the incident to the police. Then, a “police officer ran onto the train and caught this man in the act and took him into custody,”  Busch said.

The assault lasted for eight minutes, but not one person tried to help the woman. “I’m appalled by those who did nothing to help this woman,” Timothy Bernhardt, the superintendent of the Upper Darby Township Police Department, said on Sunday. “Anybody that was on that train has to look in the mirror and ask why they didn’t intervene or why they didn’t do something.”

What's worse is that people, instead of stepping in to help, whipped out their phones to record the incident. While the police have not confirmed reports from investigators about the attack being recorded, Bernhardt said that if passengers did record the assault, they could be criminally charged for their actions.

Ngoy, 35, has been charged with rape, indecent assault, and related offenses. He is being held at Delaware County Jail on a $180,000 bail. As of October 17, 2021, he had not retained an attorney.

Bernhardt said there were multiple passengers aboard the train car during the alleged assault, and they could have done something to prevent the attack. Although there were not "dozens of people,"  there were enough riders that "collectively, they could have gotten together and done something," Bernhardt said. 

After the suspect was arrested, the woman told the cops what had happened, after which she was taken to the hospital. She was taken to a hospital, the authorities said. “What this woman endured at the hands of this guy, what she’s been able to provide for us, it’s been unbelievable,” Bernhardt said.

Meanwhile, Alexis Piquero, a criminologist at the University of Miami, said there are several possible reasons why some people who witness a crime do not intervene, such as fear of retaliation by the perpetrator and a belief that someone else will step in and help.

“The onus is really on us as a collective because we can’t always rely on the police,” he said. “We have to rely on one another.” By expecting someone else to help, “we’re basically washing our hands and absolving ourselves of that responsibility,” he added. “We need a world where people are doing the right thing when you see someone assaulted,” he said.

Anyone who witnessed the assault is encouraged to contact the Upper Darby Township Police.

References:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/17/us/riders-watched-woman-raped-septa.html

https://people.com/crime/a-woman-was-raped-on-a-train-while-fellow-passengers-watched/

https://udpd.org/

Cover Image Source (Representative): Getty Images