BOSTON (WHDH) - An MBTA contract driver facing criminal charges in connection with a violent attack on a woman who was riding on the suspect’s bus earlier this month has been ordered held on $10,000 bail, officials announced Wednesday.
Ali Ennab, 45, of Revere, was arraigned Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court on charges of kidnapping, assault to rape, and indecent assault, according to Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
The alleged attack, which was captured on surveillance video, happened on board a bus from Orient Heights to Winthrop on the evening of April 24, 2021, Rollins said.
The victim, who does not speak English, missed her stop and used a translator to ask Ennab to return her to Orient Heights but he instead allegedly stopped the bus near a beach in Winthrop. Rollins says the victim then began to feel nervous because she was the only passenger onboard at the time.
Ennab shut the bus off, got up and sat next to the victim, put his arm around her, pulled her closer to him, kissed her cheek, and told her that “he could get her a green card,” according to prosecutors.
The victim reportedly told Ennab that she has a husband and doesn’t need a green card, then again asked him to open the doors because she wanted to get off the bus.
Instead of complying with the victim’s request, Ennab asked for her number, called her phone from his phone so that his number would be stored in case something happened to her, and then began eating his dinner and refused to open the doors to let her off the bus, prosecutors said.
When Ennab finished his dinner, he allegedly lunged at the victim, ripped her mask off, started kissing her face, groped her body, and put his hand down her pants as she begged him to stop.
In a video recording of the incident, the victim can be heard in Spanish begging Ennab to stop and open the door but he responded by saying, “Me, I’m boyfriend for you, it’s OK,” prosecutors said.
Ennab opened the door when another person walked by the bus, allowing her to run free, she said.
“To state the obvious: A woman should be able to ride a public bus without fear of kidnap and sexual assault. Women, just like all people, have the right to not be harassed, violated, harmed, or objectified,’’ Rollins said in a statement.
In a statement, the MBTA called that allegations against Ennab “disturbing, abhorrent, and intolerable.”
Ennab, who is employed by Paul Revere Transportation, was ordered held after a judge revoked his bail on an assault and battery case out of Malden.
In a statement, the transportation company said, “Paul Revere was shaken to learn about the allegations against an on-duty operator that were reported on Saturday, April 24. Our hearts go out to the alleged victim in this matter.”
Paul Revere added that they have since suspended Ennab and are cooperating with investigators.
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