Police arrest man accused of Philadelphia subway rape

Police arrested a Philadelphia man Wednesday who is accused of at least two sexual assaults, including one reported Sunday aboard a subway train.

A police spokesperson said late Tuesday in an email that officers were looking for 28-year-old Quintez Adams in relation to two assaults this month. Police announced Wednesday afternoon that Adams was taken into custody and had been taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Court records did not contain current charges or information on an attorney who could speak on Adams’ behalf.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority officials confirmed that its officers are reviewing surveillance video as part of a police investigation into Sunday’s assault.

Police did not release many details of the assault, which came about six months after a much-publicized rape on a commuter train in October while other passengers were present. Fiston Ngoy, 35, is charged with rape and related offenses in that attack.

It was unclear whether other passengers were on the train Sunday.

Adams was wanted in relation to a reported sexual assault the afternoon of April 4 at 7th and Market streets and in the Sunday assault, which happened shortly after noon.

Only one of the sexual assaults happened on SEPTA property, spokesperson Andrew Busch said. A woman reported she was raped Sunday on the Broad Street Line subway in the area of the Girard Avenue station.

Busch said SEPTA police responded and assisted the victim. The Philadelphia special victims unit was called to investigate the attack shortly after. It is SEPTA’s understanding that the suspect was known to the victim, he said, but he did not know what their relationship was.

After the October rape, SEPTA officials increased patrols in specific stations and highlighted a public service campaign to remind riders of call buttons on trains to report potential crimes. At the time, officials stressed that riders should call police even if something seems “off” instead of waiting until something seems criminal.

SEPTA officials did not say whether the assault Sunday had spurred any immediate increases in security measures.

The authority hired supplemental security guards last year as part of its push to make the system safer, but those guards are unsworn security without arrest powers. Those guards are due to be replaced by what SEPTA called guides, ambassadors who remind riders of the rules and help call social service workers to address needs of homeless people or people in mental health crisis.

Some city officials and leaders of the SEPTA police union have pushed for funding from the guards program to be invested instead in attracting more full-time officers. The system was short about 60 officers as of this week.