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NYC Transit Sued Over Subway Platform Rape
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 18, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 18, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Last year, a 21 year old art student was raped on the G platform at 21st Street in Hunters Point. Then it turned out that the token booth clerk did see the victim and rapist, but he stayed in his booth and pressed the panic button - as per NYC Transit procedures. Now, the victim, now 23 years old, is suing NYC Transit for negligence claiming that it "failed to meet the standard of care owed . . . to their passengers." "Nicole" spoke to Post and recounted what happened:
The NYU grad was attacked during the early hours of June 7, 2005, as she rode a Queens-bound G train. The pervert first began to stroke her feet. Disgusted, Nicole got up and moved - only to be pursued by the creep.
She got off the train at the next stop, 21st Street in Long Island City, not realizing he had followed her until she felt his tongue on her foot.
"It freaked me out so much that I started running up the stairs," she said.
The creep caught up with her and began pulling her down the stairs as a screaming Nicole made eye contact with booth clerk John Koort.
"I had this thought that, 'Finally, I am safe, there is another person in here, I am not alone, I can get out of it,' " she recalled.
Instead, she was dragged down the steps and sexually assaulted on the platform before the pervert forced her into a filthy toolshed and fled.
She later learned that train conductor Harmodio Cruz had witnessed the crime as he rode by and pressed his own panic button but, he said, couldn't stop in time to help her.
Nicole added, "Every time I think about the token-booth guy ... it just makes my blood boil. I really feel like he is not someone I can forgive." She does, however, forgive her attacker (believing that he is "sick"), who is still at large.
This crime is definitely horrible, but one thing we remember from last year's coverage is that the NYC Transit said the token booth clerk needs to stay in the booth, because he wouldn't know if he was being set up. Right - but what about the token booth clerks that now work outside of the booths? Would they just run, then? The attack occured around 3AM, which probably means there weren't any other people around, but had there been, we're sure some other passengers would have tried to help the victim.
Tagged
art
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crime
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Hunters Point
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News: NYC
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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