Subway Workers Who Witnessed Rape Not Liable

Calling cops as woman was assaulted sufficient, judge rules
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2009 12:32 PM CDT
Subway Workers Who Witnessed Rape Not Liable
An afternoon rush hour commuter covers her ears as an express train passes.   (AP Photo)

A woman raped in the New York City subway while MTA employees looked on will get no relief from the courts, the New York Post reports. Both a conductor and a station agent saw the woman being assaulted in 2005; they called police and did nothing more. A judge today threw out the woman’s suit against them and their employer, saying they took “prompt and decisive action in obtaining police help.”

Police arrived 10 minutes after being summoned, but it was too late: The woman had been raped, and the attacker had fled. He has not been found. Her attorney called the ruling “offensive” and said it gives “blanket immunity” to transit workers. “God forbid citizens are put in a position where municipal workers are not required to act and it leads to harm," he said. “They are left out in the cold.” (More rape stories.)

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