UPPER DARBY, Pa. — A woman riding a crowded Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train was raped on Wednesday night, and bystanders witnessing the attack neither intervened nor contacted authorities, police said.
According to Delaware County authorities, the woman reported that she was raped on the inbound elevated line near 69th Street in Upper Darby at around 11 p.m., and 35-year-old Fishton Ngoy has been arrested on multiple charges related to the attack, KYW-TV reported.
Ngoy’s arrest occurred at the 69th Street transportation center after a transit authority employee noticed the attack taking place and alerted authorities, WCAU reported.
According to KYW-TV, a transit authority patrolman found the suspect partially clothed on the train near the victim and “took action.”
Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt of the Upper Darby Police Department confirmed to WCAU that the assault was captured on surveillance video, and he said that he was shocked after the footage revealed that other riders on the train at the time of the attack did nothing to stop it.
“It’s disturbing that there were definitely people on the El, and no one did anything to intervene or help this woman,” Bernhardt told the TV station, referring to the Market-Frankford Elevated Line that runs between Upper Darby and Frankford in Lower Northeast Philadelphia.
The victim, who was treated at an area hospital following the attack, did not know her assailant, Bernhardt confirmed to both TV stations.
“Were they watching? I don’t know,” he told KYW-TV, noting that investigators are still poring over the video but that “a lot of people” who “should’ve intervened” were in a position to do so.
“Somebody should’ve done something. It speaks to where we are in society. Who would allow something like that to take place?” Bernhardt added.
The transit authority issued the following statement on Friday regarding the incident:
“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.”
In addition to rape, Ngoy has been charged with aggravated indecent assault and related counts, WCAU reported, citing Delaware County court records.
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