SEPTA

No Proof Anyone ‘Callously' Took Video of Rape on SEPTA Train, DA Says

“That is simply not true. It did not happen. We have security video from SEPTA that shows that is not the true narrative," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said

By Rudy Chinchilla • Published October 21, 2021 • Updated 29 mins ago

Passengers did not sit around and record cellphone video of a rape aboard a SEPTA train for their own gratification without contacting authorities, Delaware County’s top prosecutor said Thursday.

The revelation from District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer runs counter to the police narrative of the rape on a SEPTA Market-Frankford elevated train at the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby. Police said in that case that passengers took cellphone video without calling 911 before a SEPTA employee called police.

“There is a narrative out there that people sat there on the El train and watched this transpire and took videos of it for their own gratification,” Stollsteimer said using the nickname for the Market-Frankford line. “That is simply not true. It did not happen. We have security video from SEPTA that shows that is not the true narrative.”

In fact, Stollsteimer said, SEPTA security video shows that a “handful” of people who were getting on and off the train as it traveled from Philadelphia to the 69th Street Terminal had observed different parts of the rape, possibly without knowing what exactly was happening.

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