SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some
Prosecutors pursuing the case against a man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train last week dont anticipate charging fellow passengers for not intervening, a spokesperson for the suburban Philadelphia district attorney said.
Its still an open investigation, but there is no expectation at this time that we will charge passengers, said Margie McAboy, spokeswoman for the Delaware County District Attorneys office.
In an emailed statement, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said prosecutors want witnesses to come forward, rather than fearing prosecution, and said, Pennsylvania law does not allow for the prosecution of a passenger who may have witnessed a crime.
Authorities continue to investigate the Oct. 13 attack, where a woman was repeatedly touched and groped over the course of a 40-minute ride despite trying to push 35-year-old Fiston Ngoy away, according to an arrest affidavit that detailed the surveillance footage from the train.
Investigators say Ngoy ripped the womans pants off and proceeded to rape her for somewhere between six and eight minutes before officers boarded the train and detained him.
Police declined to say how many passengers may have witnessed the assault, but have said it appeared that some held their phones up in the direction of the assault seemingly to film the attack. Police have also declined to say whether investigators have found any photos or videos of the attack posted online.
Requests by The Associated Press for surveillance video from the Oct. 13 attack on the Market-Frankford line have been denied, citing the ongoing criminal investigation. It remains unclear whether passengers actually witnessed or recorded what happened on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train.
SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said Wednesday that at points during the rape, there were passengers standing or sitting nearby, though he couldnt guess whether any understood the serious nature of the situation.
Chief (Thomas) Nestel made his best estimate that 10 people were walking through, sitting or standing near where the attack was occurring at points throughout the assault, Busch said. Our hope is that people will realize when they see this type of activity, whether they fully understand it or not, that they will push the emergency call button or call the police. There really was no way to not see it even if they didnt fully understand.
Legal experts said unrelated passengers dont have a legal duty to intervene under Pennsylvania law.
Unless they have a legal duty to intervene, like a parent for their child, a person cannot be prosecuted for sitting back and doing nothing, said Jules Epstein, a law professor and director of advocacy programs at Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Doing nothing may be morally wrong, but in Pennsylvania, without that special duty relationship, it is not legally wrong, Epstein said.
Busch said the employee who called the police, entered the train car after the assault had begun, but his call meant police had an opportunity to arrest Ngoy.
Without that call, the suspect might have been able to just walk off the train and we would still be looking for him, Busch said.
SEPTAs police chief, Nestel has said Philadelphia 911 did not receive any calls about the attack. He said Monday operators at Delaware County 911 were still researching whether it received calls.
Ngoy is charged with rape and related sexual assault offenses. He was being held on 180,000 bail, awaiting an initial appearance scheduled for Oct. 25. Attorney Mary Elizabeth Welch confirmed the Delaware County Public Defenders office is representing Ngoy, but said she could not comment on the case Wednesday.
Court records show Ngoy has a history of arrests and convictions under at least three names in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and suburban Southeastern Pennsylvania counties including public intoxication, defecating or urinating in public, public disturbance and other charges.
In D.C., Ngoy pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual abuse in November 2017 under the name Jack Falcon, after police said he groped two women on the street near a homeless shelter where he was staying.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
12 pm |
| 30 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: W 23 KM/H
GUSTING TO 32 KM/H |
|
|
|
1 pm |
| 30 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: W 28 KM/H
GUSTING TO 40 KM/H |
|
|
|
2 pm |
| 30 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: W 31 KM/H
GUSTING TO 40 KM/H |
|
|
|
3 pm |
| 30 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: WNW 32 KM/H
GUSTING TO 39 KM/H |
|
|
|
4 pm |
| 30 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: WNW 31 KM/H
GUSTING TO 38 KM/H |
|
|
|
5 pm |
| 29 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: WNW 32 KM/H
GUSTING TO 39 KM/H |
|
|
|
6 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: WNW 29 KM/H
GUSTING TO 38 KM/H |
|
|
|
7 pm |
| 27 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: WNW 25 KM/H
GUSTING TO 37 KM/H |
|
|
|
|
TODAY |
HIGH OF 30 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 32 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
|
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 37 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 35 ℃
LOW OF 20 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 29 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 38 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 33 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
TYLER BRADEN
WHAT I SEE
12:59 PM |
|
 |
COLE SWINDELL
WE CAN ALWAYS MOVE ON
12:55 PM |
|
 |
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND
CADILLAC RANCH
12:52 PM |
|
 |
JASON ALDEAN
HEARTACHE THAT DONT STOP HURTING
12:48 PM |
|
 |
RILEY GREEN
ALCOHALL OF FAME
12:42 PM |
|
 |
MACKENZIE PORTER
ROUGH RIDE FOR A COWBOY
12:39 PM |
|
 |
BILLY CURRINGTON
BURNIN THE MIDNIGHT GASOLINE
12:36 PM |
|
 |
ELI YOUNG BAND
RAISED RIGHT
12:32 PM |
|
 |
SAM GROW
COUNTRY SIDE OF TOWN
12:29 PM |
|
 |
EASTON CORBIN
DIGGING ON YOU
12:26 PM |
|
 
 |
