MBTA contract driver charged with kidnapping, assault to rape after attack on female passenger, DA says

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    BOSTON (WCVB) — An MBTA contract bus driver has been charged with kidnapping, assault to rape and indecent assault and battery on a woman who was a passenger on the bus he was operating, District Attorney Rachael Rollins said.

Ali Ennab, 45, of Revere, who is employed by Paul Revere Transportation as a contract driver for the MBTA, is accused of attacking the woman after she had missed her stop and was the only remaining person on bus 713 from Orient Heights to Winthrop on the evening of April 24, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the woman, who does not speak English, was picked up from Orient Heights on April 24 at around 7:20 p.m. She was talking on her phone and missed her stop and then used a translator app to ask the driver to take her back to Orient Heights.

The bus driver began speaking to her and identified himself as Ali, but he did not return to Orient Heights, prosecutors said. Instead, he stopped the bus at a stop near the beach in Winthrop, and the victim began to feel nervous because she was the only passenger, prosecutors said.

Ennab then shut the bus off, got up and sat next to the woman and put his arm around her, pulled her close to him and kissed her cheek, prosecutors said. He then told her he could get her a Green Card, prosecutors said. She told him she was married and didn’t need a Green Card, then again asked him to open the doors because she wanted to get off the bus, prosecutors said. He asked for her number and she called her phone from his phone so that his number would be there in case something happened to her, prosecutors said. He then began eating his dinner and refused to open the doors to let her off the bus.

After eating, he started the bus. The victim started walking toward the doors and the driver turned the bus off again, prosecutors said. She asked him to open the door and he lunged at her, ripping her mask off and kissing her face, prosecutors said. He groped her body and put his hand down her pants, prosecutors said. She begged him to stop, and he continued assaulting her, prosecutors said.

The woman recorded audio of the assault on her phone, prosecutors said. In the audio, the victim can be heard in Spanish begging the driver to stop and open the door and Ennab responding, “Me, I’m boyfriend for you, it’s OK,” prosecutors said.

Ennab opened the door when another woman walked near the bus, prosecutors 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.

Ennab was held on $10,000 cash bail after his arraignment Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court. with conditions of home confinement, staying away from the victim and not working as a transportation driver. He will return to court May 25.

Ennab’s bail for a previous assault and battery case out of Malden was also revoked.

“These disturbing allegations are abhorrent and intolerable. The MBTA is cooperating fully with law enforcement personnel, including Transit Police and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office,” the MBTA said in a statement. “This individual will no longer operate a bus for the MBTA.”

“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 Transportation said in a statement. “While we are prohibited from commenting directly about underlying allegations, Paul Revere maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding any alleged criminal activity by any employee. In addition to suspending the employee, the company immediately assisted the MBTA Transit Police Department with detention and arrest of the suspect. Paul Revere will continue to cooperate fully with authorities on all matters related to the ongoing investigation.”

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