A teenage girl said she was sexually assaulted by a stranger on a Green Line Metro train, The Washington Examiner has learned. The girl told a station manager at the Naylor Road station in Prince George’s County that she had been assaulted on an outbound train, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.
Metro Transit Police then arrested a 47-year-old man from Annandale at the station and charged him with first- and second-degree sexual offense plus a kidnapping charge, Stessel said.
The assault happened in early April around 8:30 p.m. when train cars are likely to have multiple passengers. No witnesses came forward, Stessel said.
| Rapes in Metro system |
| 2006: 3 |
| 2007: 1 |
| 2008: 0 |
| 2009: 1 |
| 2010: 7 |
| SOURCE: Metro crime statistics |
Metro declined to release the girl’s age but said she was under 18. She did not know her attacker, he said.
But little additional information has been made public. The agency declined to release the name of the suspect, citing a request from the State’s Attorney’s Office.
The transit agency did not alert the public about the attack at the time.
“There was no threat to public safety. The alleged assailant was immediately apprehended,” Stessel said. “With the suspect in custody, our interest was ensuring that the privacy of the teenage victim was protected.”
A report released this month showing a summary of crime statistics listed one rape. After The Washington Examiner asked about it, Stessel provided details on the case. He also explained the crime was a sexual offense, not a rape, and noted the report would be amended.
Sexual assaults and rapes are not common on Metro property. In 2010, the agency reported seven rapes, more than had occurred in the previous five years combined.
The April case is the sole case so far in 2011, according to agency statistics.
But many riders don’t know when attacks happen. The most recent crime reports on the Metro police department’s website date from Nov. 30, 2010.
In February 2010, a 19-year-old man was arrested in connection with two separate sexual assaults in the Largo Town Center garage, including the rape of a 13-year-old who had been missing for two days.
Metro did not tell riders or the public about the incidents — even while the suspect was at large after the first rape and carjacking. It released information only after being asked directly about the attacks.
