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A train passenger in the US was raped for 8 minutes. No one intervened
The tragic incident happened in the Philadelphia area, when a homeless woman attacked, while the other passengers did not lift a finger.
The assault was stopped only after a train worker called police, who are investigating whether the rape was documented.
"I'm shocked by those who did nothing"
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United States
Philadelphia
Trains
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Tuesday, October 19, 2021, 08:40
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Not all trains have police officers in the carriages (Photo: Reuters)
A train passenger in the Philadelphia area was raped for about eight minutes by another passenger, with none of the other passengers intervening to stop the attack, authorities said. The tragic incident occurred last Wednesday, and was first reported by the Pennsylvania State Department of Transportation in the United States. The spokesman, Andrew Bush, said the suspect, Piston Nguy, was sitting next to the woman around 10pm and tried to touch her several times. She tried to stop him, but he kept ripping her clothes off.
Eventually, an employee of the Transportation Authority boarded the train, saw what was happening and called 911 and a police officer who ran to the car caught the rapist and took him into custody. The woman then told police about the assault and she was evacuated to a hospital. Nguy, 35, was charged with rape, sexual assault and other offenses. According to authorities he is homeless and he was unarmed during the attack.
"I am appalled by those who have done nothing to help this woman," said Timothy Bernhardt, chief of police in the Upper Derby district. "Everyone who has been on this train should look in the mirror and ask why he did not intervene or do something." He declined to say how many passengers were in the same caravan, but noted that there were enough to stop the attacker together.
He said investigators had received reports that some of the passengers had documented the attack on their phones, but police had not yet verified this.
"What this woman suffered from this man, what she was able to tell us, is unbelievable," Bernhardt said.
He added that witnesses who did not intervene might be prosecuted if they documented the rape, noting that this would be the district prosecution's decision that would be made after the police completed the investigation.
However, he admitted that it would be very difficult to file indictments against them under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania.
A spokesman for the District Attorney's Office did not respond to inquiries.
The railway authority in the area said sexual assaults inside the carriages are rare, with thefts and robberies being the most common crimes.
Not all trains have police officers.
"We hope people will read about it, see the stories on TV, and think about helping efforts to prevent such incidents from happening," Bush said.
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