According to police, passers-by “should have intervened” when woman was raped on train

Police said a woman was raped on a Philadelphia commuter train on October 13 and that “a lot of people” were nearby who “should have done something.” However, the district attorney later disputed aspects of that account regarding bystanders.

Police said they arrested a man in connection with the rape, which allegedly occurred on a SEPTA train. Fishton Ngoy, 35, was charged with rape and several other counts.

According to authorities, parts of the incident were captured on video from a surveillance camera that showed bystanders who were on the train at the time of the incident.

“Did they watch? I don’t know. We’re still looking at the video, but in my opinion, a lot of people should have intervened. Someone should have done something. That shows where we are in society. Who would allow something like that to happen? So it’s disturbing, but we’re working on it and trying to identify everyone we saw getting on and off the elevated train at that time,” said Upper Darby Police Chief Tim Bernhardt.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, Bernhardt told the Associated Press.

“She’s on the mend,” Bernhardt said. “Hopefully she’ll pull through this.”

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Oct. 21 that surveillance video showed a passenger recording part of the interaction, but it was unclear whether the passenger fully understood what was happening, CBS Philadelphia reported.

“This is the elevated train, folks, we’ve all been on it. At every stop, people get on and off. But that doesn’t mean that when they get on and see people interacting with each other, they know it’s rape,” Stollsteimer said.

The case shocked SEPTA passengers and made national headlines.

Bernhardt, who called the inaction of bystanders “disturbing,” said police were called to the 69th Street terminal around 10 p.m. after the attack on the train.

SEPTA issued a statement calling it a “horrific criminal act” and saying “there were other people on the train who witnessed this horrific act, and the train may have been stopped sooner if a passenger had called 911.” SEPTA said in a statement that one of its officers called 911.

Commuters who use the train were shocked to hear of the incident. Shane Brown told CBS Philadelphia: “They need more security, they really need a lot of security, because it’s getting worse and worse out here. You can’t even get on the bus.”

According to police, the suspect did not know the victim.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional comments from the district attorney.

City leaders discuss how to stop anti-Semitic hate crimes

Woman in Corona, Queens, hit and killed by pickup truck

DC judge criticizes prosecutors for ‘confusion’ over minor agreements on January 6