A man allegedly assaulted and raped a woman aboard a moving Metro train in broad daylight, according to court records from an initial hearing Monday.
The 39-year-old unidentified woman said she was riding the red line train April 12 towards the Glenmont Station in Montgomery County Maryland at roughly 10 a.m. when a man dressed in black approach her in the empty car. He asked her, “Do you have a boyfriend,” and “are you going to Glenmont,” the victim told police, before pulling a knife on her and forcing her to a different part of the train. The suspect then raped the victim, assaulting her twice before exiting the train at the Glenmont station, reports The Washington Post.
After the man exited the train at Glenmont, the victim said she saw him get back into another car. She exited and went straight to Metro security, who called the police. Authorities took the woman to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital to be treated for the assault and a laceration on her finger from a struggle with the attacker.
“This is a horrifically terrifying experience,” Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Haynos said Monday in court. “I don’t know many people who would have thought this would have happened in such a public arena — and that somebody would have the audacity to do that, particularly at 10 a.m.”
Police used a combination of the victim’s description, enhanced surveillance footage and information from Hick’s SmartTrip Metro card to track down a suspect. Police arrested John Prentice Hicks, 39, on the same day as the attack. Police were reportedly already familiar with Hicks for a previous indecent exposure incident on the Metro.
Hicks is expected to be charged with first-degree rape, a first-degree sex offense and second-degree assault. Judge Zuberi Bakari Williams, of the Montgomery District Court ordered Hicks held on no-bond until his next hearing June 10. (RELATED: Teen Stabbed To Death In Another Fatal Incident On DC Metro)
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