Riders Watched Woman Being Raped on Train But No One Called 911

neeki

Well-Known Member
No one called 911, but I'm guessing many pulled out their phones to record.

Riders watched as a woman was raped on a SEPTA train but no one called 911, police say.​

Nicole Acevedo and Gemma DiCasimirro
Sat, October 16, 2021, 10:36 AM·2 min read


A 35-year-old man in Pennsylvania is facing rape and assault charges after a woman was sexually assaulted on board a public transit train Wednesday night as riders witnessed the attack but did not intervene, authorities said on Friday.

The woman was assaulted at around 11 p.m. while riding the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Market-Frankford line towards the town of Upper Darby.

"The assault was observed by a SEPTA employee, who called 911, enabling SEPTA officers to respond immediately and apprehend the suspect in the act," Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesperson, said in a statement.

SEPTA officers arrested the man, later identified as 35-year-old Fiston Ngoy, according to Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt.

Surveillance video captured the entirety of the assault, giving investigators enough evidence to charge Ngoy with rape and assault, Bernhardt told NBC Philadelphia.

The video also shows how riders, who also witnessed the attack, did nothing to help the woman being assaulted, according to Bernhardt.

"It's disturbing," he said. "I'm shocked, I have no words for it. I just can't imagine seeing what you were seeing through your own eyes and seeing what this woman was going through that no one would step in and help her."

Investigators are also reviewing the videos in an effort to determine who was there and interview possible witnesses, Bernhardt added.

Bernhardt told NBC Philadelphia that he spoke to the woman on Friday and said she was doing okay after being taken to a hospital to be treated for her injuries following the assault.

Upper Darby police continues leading the investigation into the rape with assistance from SEPTA Transit Police. Investigators are also urging anyone who witnessed the attack to contact the authorities.

SEPTA is also urging possible witnesses to contact the authorities. "The rape that occurred on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line Wednesday night (Oct. 13) was a horrendous criminal act," Busch said. "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. Anyone witnessing an emergency should immediately call 911," he added.

Ngoy remains in jail unable to post bail, NBC Philadelphia reported.
 

C@ssandr@

formerly known as "keyawarren"
I'll be honest, considering that bystanders get killed for less, I can understand the fear of "intervening". So now my question is was the SEPTA employee one of the riders? Because if he was, and they called 911, then why would anyone else do so?

TBH, I would probably call after I got away from the scene. I am no match for a crazy person esp if people aren't gonna back me up.
 

LivingInPeace

Well-Known Member
I'll be honest, considering that bystanders get killed for less, I can understand the fear of "intervening". So now my question is was the SEPTA employee one of the riders? Because if he was, and they called 911, then why would anyone else do so?

TBH, I would probably call after I got away from the scene. I am no match for a crazy person esp if people aren't gonna back me up.
The employee got on the train at a stop after the attack was in progress and called 911. After the other people on the train just sat there and watched...and possibly recorded it.
 

Black Ambrosia

Well-Known Member
The employee got on the train at a stop after the attack was in progress and called 911. After the other people on the train just sat there and watched...and possibly recorded it.
I'm not sure what I imagined before but now I have completely different visual in my head. He continued long enough for people to board the train while it was in progress and wasn't deterred by people boarding the train. This wasn't a quick assault. This is depraved. I'd have to move. There's no way I could ride that train again. It would be a trigger. I want him to do time and I think there's a lawsuit here for SEPTA.
 

LivingInPeace

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what I imagined before but now I have completely different visual in my head. He continued long enough for people to board the train while it was in progress and wasn't deterred by people boarding the train. This wasn't a quick assault. This is depraved. I'd have to move. There's no way I could ride that train again. It would be a trigger. I want him to do time and I think there's a lawsuit here for SEPTA.
I believe an article said the attack went on for about eight minutes.
 

CarefreeinChicago

Well-Known Member
When I saw this story I had no word, then my second thought was she was black that's why no body helped her disgusting! I have gotten off the train because people are smoking it's no way I am going to sit and text on my phone while a human is being assaulted. I would have at least threw my purse at him something. Humans are the worst.
 

naturalgyrl5199

Well-Known Member
I'm confused

Smoke and mirrors.

They are claiming from other outlets that people may not have been aware of a crime taking place and people were just in and out walking by. Which is total BS

The fact remains that no bystanders called the cops.
The fact remains that at least one person RECORDED--and still didn't call the cops.

In one outlet they tried to say a similar incident in the past occurred and they "heard a lady cry for help and helped."

What I see is the police and a city not wanting to be held liable for tracking said people down and they don't want a reputation as a trash city.

They said they are looking for at least 1-2 people who have recordings of the crime in place but they don't know WHO was there. I think they are waiting for the people to put it on WorlStar or something but they really gonna have to spin it as "We'll pay 10K NO QUESTIONS if you have evidence of the crime."
 

nyeredzi

Well-Known Member
Why record if you don’t want to help????? This is disgusting.
I think people believe recording may help. It provides evidence, as we've seen from police brutality cases. My husband told me once he saw a man start to assault a woman on a train and everybody whipped out their phones to record him and he stopped and got off as soon as he could.

This situation is truly tragic, but I understand how it can happen. Everyone is weighing their own safety against hers. :( I feel like the people best poised for successful intervention are men, and ideally if they are with a friend so they have someone who will definitely back them up, 2 against 1.

It was a different situation, but in a foreign country I saw a group of people beating a man. I had never seen anything like it and didn't know what to do. I yelled out the window, almost unintentionally. I feel like I started yelling stop before even realizing I had started yelling, if that makes sense. I took pictures or videos, because what else was I going to do? At least it would capture the incident. It was kind of stunning. After I went to find other people in the shared space I was in to tell them what happened, asking what to do. By then the cops had already come, though, I think ...
 
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