Bystanders film rape in US metro but do not intervene: ‘No words for’ | Abroad

The woman in question was harassed by a man around 10 p.m. That lasted a total of about forty minutes during which she was raped for eight minutes. Everything was captured on surveillance footage. It is a “horrible criminal act,” says carrier Septa. “Several people in the subway witnessed it. This could have been stopped sooner if one of them had called 911.”

Fortunately, a Septa employee walked by at some point, after which he informed the police. At the last stop, suspect Fiston Ngoy (35) was handcuffed. The woman was taken to hospital and treated there.

The movie

The fact that no one intervened is horrifying. “I can report that there were people holding up their phones when the woman was attacked,” said a police chief. “We want everyone to be terribly angry and nauseous about this.”

The Philadelphia Public Prosecutor’s Office is considering prosecuting the filmmakers. Although intervening is not legally required, filming itself could be punishable. “I have no words for it,” said police chief Timothy Bernhardt. “Everyone who was on that subway should look in the mirror and wonder why he or she didn’t intervene.”

Suspicion

The suspect is charged with rape by the court. He was already known to the authorities. According to American and British media, Ngoy is a Congolese man who is illegally in the country and should have been deported already.

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