Undercover police teams cracking down on sexual abuse on the subway recently made two dramatic arrests, the NYPD says.
Police arrested 45-year-old Cecil McKenzie, one of the 82 sex offenders in New York City who are not allowed to access the transit system, according to NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Joseph Fox.
McKenzie was caught riding between cars at 59th Street and Lexington, and when NYPD stopped him and did a background check, the officers learned he was not allowed to be in the subways.
Transit police soon made another bust, arresting 53-year-old William Faulkner for allegedly trying to press up against a woman on the subway. He, too, was not allowed to ride the subway.
Fox says there's an undercover team specifically trained to watch for such predators.
"They actually watched him and caught him in the act," he said.
There have been 451 reports of sexual abuse in the subway so far this year, an increaseo f 156 compared to last year, according to the NYPD.
Local
Fox said it's women who speaking up more and reporting the incident, even anonymously, that have made a difference.
