Woman Raped On El Train In Upper Darby While Others Stood Around And ‘Did Nothing,’ Police Say

[The Bobster]

Woman Raped On El Train In Upper Darby While Others Stood Around And 'Did Nothing,' Police Say

Investigators say the sexual attack happened while others were standing around on the train, and "did nothing."

philadelphia.cbslocal.com

Woman Raped On El Train In Upper Darby While Others Stood Around And ‘Did Nothing,’ Police Say​

By Matt PetrilloOctober 15, 2021 at 5:21 pm



UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) — Police in Delaware County arrested a suspect connected to a rape that allegedly happened on a SEPTA El train. Police say the suspect, 35-year-old Fishton Ngoy, is facing rape and several other charges.

Police say a woman reported that she was raped on the inbound El near 69th Street in Upper Darby around 11 o’clock Wednesday night.
Investigators say the sexual attack happened while others were standing around on the train and “did nothing.”
“Were they watching? I don’t know. Again, we’re still going through the video but there was a lot of people, in my opinion, that should’ve intervened. Somebody should’ve done something. It speaks to where we are in society. Who would allow something like that to take place? So it’s troubling but again, we’re working on that and we’re trying to identify anyone that we saw coming on and off the El at that time,” Upper Darby Police Superintendent Tim Bernhardt said.
A police officer on his beat later found the suspect on the train partially clothed near the victim and took action.
People who rode the El were stunned to learn about the disturbing details.
“They need more security, they really do. They really need a lot of security because it’s getting bad out here. You can’t even get on the bus,” Shawn Brown said.
SEPTA released a statement on the incident Friday.

“The rape that occurred on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line Wednesday night (Oct. 13) was a horrendous criminal act. The assault was observed by a SEPTA employee, who called 911, enabling SEPTA officers to respond immediately and apprehend the suspect in the act.
There were other people on the train who witnessed this horrific act, and it may have been stopped sooner if a rider called 911. SEPTA urges anyone who observes a crime being committed or any dangerous situation occurring to report it.”

Police say the suspect did not know the victim.

 

[The Bobster]

Homeless man charged with horrifically raping woman on train claims it was consensual

A homeless man charged with raping a woman on a commuter train outside Philadelphia claimed the encounter was consensual, according to a report Monday.

nypost.com

Homeless man charged with horrifically raping woman on train claims it was consensual​

By
Joshua Rhett Miller


October 18, 2021 3:47pm
Updated









Man facing rape charges in sexual assault aboard crowded SEPTA train, police say

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A homeless man charged with raping a woman on a commuter train outside Philadelphia claimed the encounter was consensual, according to a report Monday.
Fiston Ngoy, 35, who has been charged with rape in Wednesday’s attack aboard a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train, told Upper Darby police he had recognized the woman and tried to strike up a conversation, according to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Ngoy insisted the encounter with the woman, who told cops she was drunk and alone at the time, had been consensual. But she said that version of events was false, telling investigators Ngoy ignored her pleas for him to go away.
Surveillance footage from inside the SEPTA train backed up the woman’s account, showing Ngoy spending nearly 45 minutes trying to touch and grope her prior the 10 p.m. Wednesday attack, the affidavit states.
Fishton Ngoy told police he had recognized the woman and tried to strike up a conversation.Delaware County Jail
SEPTA cops arrested Ngoy, who listed a shelter in Philadelphia as his last address, minutes after an off-duty transit officer who witnessed the assault called an emergency line. But no one onboard the westbound train on the Market-Frankford line stepped in to stop the attack, police said.
It remained unclear Monday exactly how many other passengers were in the car at the time, but Upper Darby police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said the attack may have been prevented if someone got involved.
Fiston Ngoy has been charged with rape in an attack aboard a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train.Moment Editorial/Getty Images
“There was a lot of people in my opinion that should have intervened, somebody should have done something,” Bernhardt said Saturday. “It speaks to where we are in society and who would allow something like that to take place. So it’s troubling.”

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Bernhardt said the “unbelievably strong woman” told cops she remembered getting on the train at about 9:15 p.m. in Philadelphia. She said she couldn’t recall anything after that until cops pulled her attacker off of her, the Inquirer reported.
The woman told cops she had a few beers after work, but got onto the wrong train. About a minute later, Ngoy also got on, according to the affidavit.
Ngoy then began to talk to her and moved to the seat beside her before starting to touch the woman and grabbing her breast at one point, a surveillance video showed. Each time, the woman pushed Ngoy away, the footage showed.
“Throughout this time, the victim is obviously struggling with keeping him off of her,” cops wrote in the affidavit.
Ngoy then raped the woman at 9:52 p.m. before being pulled away from the woman by SEPTA cops. He later told investigators she struck up a conversation with the woman he had seen before, claiming she initiated the sexual encounter and did not stop his advances, the Inquirer reported.
The woman, meanwhile, told investigators in a statement that she had never seen Ngoy before, according to the affidavit.
The woman told cops she had a few beers after work, but got onto the wrong train.Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ngoy remained jailed Monday on $180,000 bail on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault and related counts. Court records did not indicate that he had hired an attorney ahead of his Oct. 25 preliminary hearing in Upper Darby, the Inquirer reported.
A spokesperson for Broad Street Ministry – the shelter and outreach center that Ngoy listed as his last address – did not return a message seeking comment Monday, according to the Inquirer.

 

[The Bobster]

Frustrated DA Dismisses Claims SEPTA Riders Watched, Recorded Rape In Upper Darby

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer was visibly frustrated as he dismissed claims that people reportedly watched and recorded a rape instead of helping.

philadelphia.cbslocal.com

Frustrated DA Dismisses Claims SEPTA Riders Watched, Recorded Rape In Upper Darby​

By Jasmine PayouteOctober 21, 2021 at 6:22 pm



UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) — Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer was visibly frustrated as he dismissed claims that people reportedly watched and recorded a rape instead of helping.
Police say 35-year-old Fiston Ngoy assaulted a woman on the El train on Oct. 13 around 10 p.m.

Thursday, on the steps of the Delaware County courthouse, Stollsteimer addressed claims he called simply untrue.
Stollsteimer said security video shows that one passenger recorded part of the interaction, but it was unclear if the passenger fully understood what was going on.
This counters initial claims made by police that suggested riders watched and recorded the incident as it happened and no one called 911.
“This is the El, guys, we’ve all ridden it. People get off and on at every single stop. That doesn’t mean when they get on and they see people interacting that they know a rape is occurring,” Stollsteimer said.
“I would never take SEPTA alone ever again without somebody being with me. It makes you think you don’t even wanna be out here at night anymore and the precautions that SEPTA has and hopefully things will change now,” one SEPTA rider said.
This announcement comes a day after the DA said he would not criminally charge passengers who did not intervene. They’re urging any witnesses to come forward.
Ngoy remains held on $180,000 bail.

 

[The Bobster]

Fiston Ngoy, Charged In Rape On SEPTA Train, Held For Trial

Fiston Ngoy, 35, is charged with rape and related offenses.

philadelphia.cbslocal.com

Fiston Ngoy, Charged In Rape On SEPTA Train, Held For Trial​

November 29, 2021 at 8:17 pm



PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train outside Philadelphia while other passengers were present was ordered held for trial by a magistrate judge Monday.
Fiston Ngoy, 35, is charged with rape and related offenses. The Oct. 13 attack on a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train drew international attention. Police and other authorities initially said bystanders on the train should have intervened, but later said many of those passengers likely did not understand or realize a rape was happening on the train.
An off-duty SEPTA employee called police after realizing “something wasn’t right.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Ngoy’s attorney argued during Monday’s hearing that prosecutors had not offered evidence that his version of events — that it was a consensual sexual encounter — was not correct. But a prosecutor likened the alleged attack to a scenario seen at colleges where a passed out person is taken advantage of.
The woman, whose name was withheld, testified in court Monday saying she had drank a few beers before boarding the train. She said Ngoy kept pushing himself on her and she had tried to push him away before she blacked out.
Investigators said surveillance video showed the woman try to push Ngoy away several times over the course of a 40-minute train ride before the attack. Police say Ngoy ripped the woman’s pants off about six minutes before the train stopped at the 69th Street terminal in Upper Darby and police arrested him on the train car.
Ngoy was being held on 10% of $180,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in county court in January.
The court appearance came the same day as two Philadelphia City Council committees held a joint hearing on safety concerns aboard SEPTA vehicles.
The hearing was prompted by a series of high-profile altercations including an attempted sexual assault at the 69th Street Terminal later in October and a filmed attack on Asian American students that led to assault and ethnic intimidation charges against four juveniles.
At the hearing, SEPTA officials said the police department has more than 40 open officer positions, leaving about 213 active officers.
But representatives from the officer’s union said many officers call out some days, leaving the department even more short-staffed. Union representatives balked at SEPTA plans to hire contractors and private security officers to work at stations and fill the gap.
“You would be better off taking that money outside and setting it on fire,” said Omari Bervine, president of the local Fraternal Order of Transit Police lodge, who urged the transportation authority to invest in the police department.
SEPTA officials also touted programs that pair nursing students, social workers and other service providers with transit workers or transit police to intervene in situations with homeless individuals, people who may need addiction services and people who may need mental health interventions. Officials also said they were looking at a program that would put graduate students who are studying child psychology on trains during school dismissal times.
A handful of council members asked for a larger uniformed police presence, and argued both the private security officers and the intervention workers would not be able to intervene in violent altercations.