Suspect arrested after brazen MBTA sex attack

Suspect arrested after brazen MBTA sex attack
By Jessica Van Sack | Thursday, October 16, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

A Somerville man is accused of sexually assaulting three women and exposing himself in a horrifying rush hour attack on a packed Red Line train, according to MBTA transit police.

Erald Pasholli, 28, allegedly spewed expletives at the three women when they boarded a train at Downtown Crossing on Tuesday afternoon, berated them and threatened rape before launching a brazen assault on the trio.

At one point, Pasholli tried to force one woman’s hand down his pants while groping a second woman’s breasts with his other hand, according to a police report. After one of the women slapped him in the face in self-defense as the train left North Quincy, cops say he allegedly unzipped his pants - and wasn’t wearing any underwear.

After receiving reports of a “large disturbance” on the Red Line, cops scoured several T stations in search of the suspect and were approached by “shocked and appalled” passengers who had witnessed the fiendish attack, police said.

Cops eventually located the train Pasholli was on, held it at Wollaston Station and arrested him at about 5:50 p.m. Passengers were “shocked and extremely frightened by his crazed behavior,” police said.

Pasholli pleaded not guilty in Quincy District Court yesterday to charges of open and gross lewdness, indecent assault and battery, assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating, said Pasholli was arraigned in August on domestic assault charges in another case and was on probation for other charges. He was held without bail for his alleged probation violations, Traub said.

The Herald reported last week that since the start of the MBTA’s anti-perv campaign April 12, emboldened riders have reported about double the number of sexual assaults compared to the previous year. Arrests of alleged predators also doubled from nine to 18 during that time.

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