Police Say Woman Raped on Suburban Philadelphia Train as Passengers Failed to Intervene

A man allegedly raped a woman on a train in suburban Philadelphia, and authorities say other passengers on the train car failed to intervene.

Superintendent of the Upper Darby Police Department Timothy Bernhardt said around 10:00 p.m. on October 13, officers responded to the 69th street terminal after being alerted of the attack on the Market-Frankford line train, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) employee witnessed the train passing by and noticed “something wasn’t right” with a woman passenger on one of the cars, according to the AP.

An officer found the alleged suspect, 35-year-old Fishton Ngoy, partially clothed on the train near the victim, CBS Philadelphia reported.

The victim was transported to a hospital and Bernhardt called her an “unbelievably strong woman,” according to the AP. The superintendent said she provided law enforcement with a lot of information, and she did not know her attacker.

Ngoy was arrested and charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault, and other related counts, according to Delaware County court records obtained by the Associated Press.

Bernhardt said Ngoy is believed to be homeless, according to NBC Philadelphia.

Bernhardt said the attack was captured on security footage and the footage shows other passengers on the train who did not intervene or call 911, according to NBC Philadelphia.

“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,” said Bernhardt in an interview with CBS Philadelphia. “Somebody should’ve done something. It speaks to where we are in society.”

“Who would allow something like that to take place?” he added. “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.”

A SEPTA passenger said that the transportation authority needs more security measures.

“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,” passenger Shawn Brown told CBS Philadelphia. 

SEPTA released a statement on the attack on October 15, CBS Philadelphia reports.  

“There were other people on the train who witnessed this horrific act, and it may have been stopped sooner if a rider called 911,” the statement reads in part. “SEPTA urges anyone who observes a crime being committed or any dangerous situation occurring to report it.”