Woman raped on Philadelphia train, bystanders ‘should have done something': cops


The assault took place on a westbound train on the Market-Frankford Line.

Fellow passengers who witnessed the rape of a woman on a suburban Philadelphia train "should have done something," according to police.

Fiston Ngoy, 35, has been charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault and related counts, according to Delaware County court records obtained by The Associated Press.

An employee of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority had called police to report that "something wasn't right" with a woman aboard the train, Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt of the Upper Darby Police Department said. Officers were then called to the 69th Street terminal at 10 p.m. Wednesday after the assault on the westbound train on the Market-Frankford Line and arrested Ngoy.

The woman was taken to hospital.

The incident was captured on surveillance video and footage showed other people on the train during the alleged attack, Bernhardt said.

"There was a lot of people, in my opinion, that should have intervened; somebody should have done something," Bernhardt said, according to the AP. "It speaks to where we are in society; I mean, who would allow something like that to take place? So it's troubling."

The assault took place on a westbound train on the Market-Frankford Line.

Though the woman told authorities she did not know the attacker, she did give police a great deal of information, said Bernhardt, noting she's "on the mend."

"Hopefully she will get through this," he said.

In a statement, SEPTA said "this horrific act ... may have been stopped sooner" had a bystander called 911.

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