Man accused of raping woman on train is illegal immigrant, was not deported despite history of sexual crime

The man police say brutally raped a woman on Philadelphia-area public transit — as commuters watched without intervening — is living in the United States illegally and should have been deported.

What is the background?

Upper Darby Township police arrested 35-year-old Fiston Ngoy, a homeless man, on charges of aggravated indecent assault without consent and rape and sexual assault. Police say Ngoy attacked and raped a woman while aboard a Philadelphia-area train last Wednesday.

Compounding the alleged brazen nature of the attack, passengers who witnessed the brutal assault chose to record it instead of intervening. In fact, none of the passengers called 911 to report the assault, SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel said.

What is the new information?

Fox News reported that Ngoy has been illegally living in the U.S. for years, and his criminal record indicates previous history of sexual crime.

According to the report, Ngoy, a Congolese national, moved to the U.S. in 2012 legally after obtaining a student visa. However, that visa was revoked in 2015 when Ngoy was no longer a student.

After having his visa revoked — meaning he was living in the U.S. illegally — Ngoy was reportedly arrested multiple times. His rap sheet includes two misdemeanor convictions, one for controlled substances and another for sexual abuse. Ngoy reportedly pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse charge in 2017, and was subsequently jailed for 120 days and placed on probation.

Despite the conviction, Ngoy was never deported.

From Fox News:

He was put in immigration detention in Jan. 2018. However, he was never deported because he received a "withholding of removal" from an immigration judge in March 2019 after the Board of Immigration Appeals found that his misdemeanor sex offense was not a "serious crime" that would have made him ineligible for such a stay.

As a result, Ngoy was released and only had to report into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under an order of supervision (OSUP). OSUPs involve conditions being placed on those who have been temporarily released from custody until they are able to be deported, typically involving regular check ins.

If Ngoy is convicted of the charges against him, he will almost certainly face deportation once released from custody.

Anything else?

Timothy Bernhardt, the superintendent of the Upper Darby Township Police Department, has said that passengers who failed to intervene and attempt to stop the brutal assault could be criminally charged.

Bernhardt said such decisions would be left to the Delaware County district attorney's office.

"It was not immediately clear what those charges could be, and Mr. Bernhardt said he did not want to speculate. He added that Pennsylvania does not have a good Samaritan law and said it would be 'very difficult to bring charges against those' who witnessed the attack but did not intervene," the New York Times reported.

SEPTA Riders Held Up Phones As Woman Was Raped On El Train In Upper Darby, Authorities Saywww.youtube.com