Metro Transit Police have arrested another MetroAccess driver for allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger.
Metro officials on Thursday announced the arrest of 59-year-old Samuel Kingston, of Gaithersburg, on sex offense and assault charges. He is the fourth MetroAccess driver police have arrested or investigated this year for the sexual assault of a passenger, and the second charged with assault in the last two months.
The victim is a woman in her mid-30s suffering from cerebral palsy, according to Metro Police Detective Ken Frost. The victim told police Kingston groped her chest as he was helping her exit a MetroAccess vehicle in Silver Spring two weeks ago. MetroAccess is a federally mandated public service for those physically unable to ride on Metro trains or buses.
“She’s confined to a scooter chair, and she was being taken off the vehicle at a rehab center,” Frost said. “It’s alleged that [Kingston] grabbed her outside of her clothing on one of her breasts and squeezed her pretty hard.”
The victim says the assault took place Aug. 27 in the afternoon.
Jeff Delinski, a deputy chief with Metro Transit Police, says Metro officials suspended Kingston from his job immediately after the crime was reported. Police arrested Kingston on Sunday after verifying the details of the assault with the victim.
Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said Kingston has been released on bond.
MetroAccess has about 27,000 registered customers and employs roughly 1,500 drivers, according to Metro.
Asato said Metro is “taking steps to ensure the safety of MetroAccess passengers and appropriate driver behavior,” including the involvement of Metro Transit Police in driver training.
At the beginning of July, police charged Tanveer Fayyaz, 31, of Gaithersburg, with the rape of a 36-year-old female MetroAccess passenger. Police said they believe Fayyaz has fled the country.
Metro officials in February fired a MetroAccess employee who was suspected of sexually assaulting a passenger. And Metro police in April arrested 55-year-old Jose Del Castillo, also of Gaithersburg, on charges of third-degree sex offense and second-degree assault of a MetroAccess passenger. His trial is pending.
Both Kingston and Castillo were hired by Challenger Transportation, a Gaithersburg subcontractor of MV Transportation, which has the contract to supply MetroAccess drivers.
Neither MV Transportation nor Challenger Transportation responded to calls for comment. But MV spokesman David Smith told The Washington Examiner in July that all MetroAccess drivers are subjected to criminal background checks.
Delinski said Kingston’s background check revealed no prior criminal history.
“Most of these drivers are here for the right reasons and they do very good work, but there have been a few that slipped through the cracks and took advantage of these crimes of opportunity,” Delinski said.
