topic Re: What am I missing here? in Community Chat

What am I missing here?

PickyPicky3 — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 22:58:22 GMT

Forgive me -- I know I overreport Philly crime. But there are things I can't understand.

There was another rape in a subway station early this morning. Sadly becoming commonplace. A 40-year-old woman and her 46-year-old boyfriend were in the station at 4:30 am and she was "trying on clothes." OK, maybe she just got off work, he wanted to escort her home to be safe, lots of time between trains at that hour, and she was showing her boyfriend some new purchases. There is a hospital close to that station.

Or am I missing something? I've never seen anyone try on clothes while waiting for a train. Why would the police report that she was trying on clothes?

The rapist in a NASA sweatshirt approached them with a gun and demanded sex. Once he left, the couple called 911.

Interesting that SEPTA is now hiring social workers as well as police officers to be on duty in the stations.

Re: What am I missing here?

Mindy D — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 23:11:59 GMT

She had some new clothes and she showed them to her boyfriend. This info is repeated on every news story about this so the info probably comes from the police report.

Re: What am I missing here?

MorningLover — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 23:22:09 GMT

NBC Philadelphia

Philadelphia police searched Monday for a bike-riding armed man in a NASA sweatshirt that they say sexually assaulted a woman on a SEPTA Broad Street Line subway platform early in the morning. Investigators said the woman's boyfriend was forced to watch the assault.

Police released a pair of surveillance images that show the "violent offender" wanted in the sex assault that took place on a bench after 4:30 a.m. on July 18 in the Snyder subway station in South Philadelphia.

"It was a traumatic event that occurred down on that platform," Capt. James Kearney, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit, said. The 40-year-old woman told police when they arrived around 4:45 a.m. that she was raped on the SEPTA platform.

She said that she was with a boyfriend trying on some clothing ahead of the attack, Kearney said. The woman first arrived to the subway platform around 4 a.m.

The boyfriend first saw the man in the NASA sweatshirt, but briefly lost track of him before the attack, Kearney said. The attacker pointed a gun at the woman's boyfriend and at her back. He then demanded sex, Kearney said.

The boyfriend could be seen in surveillance video with his hands up. "He was made to watch," Kearney said.

The man carried a black handgun with a green slide and an extended magazine during the attack and rode a bicycle in the underground, police said.

Police recovered DNA at the scene that was being processed, Kearney said.

After the attack, the woman and her boyfriend came out of the subway and called police, investigators said.

It was unclear if the gates to the station were actually open at the time of the attack, Kearney said.

The SEPTA media relations team would only confirm that an incident occurred in the subway station and that Philly police and and SVU were leading the investigation.

Investigators described the attacker as being in his mid 20s, standing around 5-foot, 6-inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with light brown or hazel eyes who wore a gray NASA hooded sweatshirt, black pants, white sneakers and medical mask.

He is considered "armed and dangerous," police said. Police warned anyone who spots the attacker not to approach but to call 911 immediately.

Re: What am I missing here?

chrystaltree — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 23:24:04 GMT

I think we all know what her was. Likely she's a "working girl" and she was changing into her regular clothes as she headed home. Which is irrelevant to her being raped by some pervert. They are hiring social workers because homeless people, mentally ill people, runaways sleep or seek shelter in train stations. People who need the help of social workers, not law enforcement.

Re: What am I missing here?

MorningLover — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 23:30:30 GMT

6 abc news

PHILADELPHIA

SEPTA released the following statement to Action News on safety and security:

"SEPTA knows that riders have concerns about safety and security on the system, and we are addressing them. We are working to increase the visibility of police officers on the system and are actively recruiting new candidates to the SEPTA Transit Police Department. Last month, SEPTA reached an agreement with the Fraternal Order of Transit Police on salary increases that will help with efforts to recruit and retain talented officers.

"In addition to traditional policing, SEPTA has added social workers to help connect members of the vulnerable population with housing and medical services. There are also new outreach specialists deployed on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines to reinforce the rules for riding and serve as eyes and ears for SEPTA Police. When there is an incident on the system, police have access to video from more than 28,000 cameras to aid in investigations and identify offenders."

Re: What am I missing here?

PickyPicky3 — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 23:39:40 GMT

@Mindy D Did this story make the national news? That would surprise me.

Re: What am I missing here?

Mindy D — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 23:41:32 GMT

@PickyPicky3 @There were news articles from national sources online.

Re: What am I missing here?

Zernia Rose — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:15:39 GMT

@chrystaltreeWhy would assume that she was a working girl? I thought that many of those who are sex workers use social media and the internet. Thank you for stating that it shouldn't matter that she was possibly a working girl. The criminal acted in the most denumanizing way and should receive two times the maximum punishment,

Re: What am I missing here?

PickyPicky3 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:42:51 GMT

It was the phrase "trying on clothes" that got me wondering if something was left unsaid. A simple imprecise word choice can taint the tone of a news report. I don't know if the police PR person said it, or if a reporter chose to use it. To me, there's a difference between trying on clothes and showing someone what you bought. I also thought the victim might be a prostitute.

Had that phrase not been used, it would have never entered my mind.

Re: What am I missing here?

KingstonsMom — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:43:14 GMT

I'm sorry, but what woman would change clothes to show her 'boyfriend' new clothes purchases at 4:30 AM on a subway??

Play stupid games. win stupid prizes...something is not right with this 'story'.....

Re: What am I missing here?

Etoile308 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 01:37:48 GMT

Nobody's stupid prize should include being raped. No matter the occupation. No one should be held at gun point.

Sounds like victim shaming to me.

Re: What am I missing here?

occasionalrain — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 01:25:58 GMT

Unfortunately, neither she nor her boyfriend were armed. No one should be in a train station at that hour without a weapon.

Re: What am I missing here?

PhilaLady1 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 01:35:40 GMT

I took the comment about trying on clothes to mean that a prostitute and the customer were trying to hurry up and put their clothes on when the attack ensued.

Re: What am I missing here?

PhilaLady1 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:17:38 GMT

Illegal working activity is a known fact in those desolate underground areas in Philly. The subway does not run 24 hours a day. At that time in the early morning, there would be no commuters.

Re: What am I missing here?

Mz iMac — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:32:07 GMT

I was confused by.....

"The boyfriend could be seen in surveillance video with his hands up. "He was made to watch,"

Was the "boyfriend" held at gun point while the victim was being raped? Or was the victim held at gun point while being raped?

I'm trying to understand why the boyfriend could not fight off the rapist while the rape was going on?

And this "trying on clothes" in the subway station 4:30 a.m. I am not going to fathom that for a convo.

Why wasn't there video/security cams at that part of the station platform to record the rape? Apparently, the rapist knew there weren't any.

Where were the Septa police patrols? Asleep?

Re: What am I missing here?

RoughDraft — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:33:51 GMT

@PhilaLady1 wrote:
Illegal working activity is a known fact in those desolate underground areas in Philly. The subway does not run 24 hours a day. At that time in the early morning, there would be no commuters.

@PhilaLady1 In the eons that have passed and on extremely rare occasions did I ever ride the subway. If they cease operation at 11:59 p.m., do they ever close the entrances to the train platform?

Re: What am I missing here?

PickyPicky3 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:40:06 GMT

I actually looked up the Broad Street line schedule. The first train would have passed through Snyder Ave. at 5:10 am. So it's possible to be waiting at 4:30.

Re: What am I missing here?

PickyPicky3 — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 02:46:00 GMT

@Mz iMac I thought the same thing about the gun while the rape was happening. There had to have been an opportunity for some kind of intervention. On the other hand, who wants to risk the rapist shooting somebody?

Re: What am I missing here?

MorningLover — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 10:25:10 GMT

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Philadelphia Inquirer

Police search for man accused of rape in SEPTA station

"As the suspect assaulted the female victim on a bench, he pointed the gun at her boyfriend, who put his hands up and “was made to watch,” said Capt. James Kearney, of the Special Victims Unit, who added that no one else was on the platform at the time of the assault."

Re: What am I missing here?

Imaoldhippie — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 10:29:20 GMT

No matter what she was doing she is the victim here.

However, I think she could have come up with a better story.