(April 4) - A woman who was sexually assaulted in a New York City subway said she was stunned by a judge's decision to toss her lawsuit claiming that two transit workers ignored her pleas for help.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kevin Kerrigan ruled earlier this week that the workers had taken "prompt and decisive action” when they called the command center to notify police, the New York Post reported. But the victim, identified as Maria Besedina, 25, argued they could have done more to save her from her horrific ordeal. She filed the suit against the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.
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Besedina came forward Thursday to tell her story following the judge's decision. "It's been extremely difficult to hear," Besedina told the Post. "The MTA did nothing."
Besedina said she was riding a train on June, 7, 2005, when another rider began touching her feet.
He followed her off at a station stop and dragged her down a stairwell. "I held [the token booth clerk's] gaze for at least five seconds, yelling and screaming, 'Help! Help!'” she told the New York Daily News. "I saw him and I thought, 'Oh gosh, he's gonna see me, it's gonna be okay’ and – nothing." A conductor also witnessed the attack from the window of his train.
She said her attacker held her over the tracks as he assaulted her. "I was just shaking and thinking that I was dead, I was as good as dead,” she said.
By the time cops arrived 10 minutes later, the attacker escaped. Police have not arrested any suspects.
Besedina said she continues to suffer from extreme anxiety from the incident. She said she plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.
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