BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — An MBTA contract bus driver has been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a passenger over the weekend.
Ali Ennab, 45, of Revere was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Tuesday. A judge set bail at $10,000 cash.
Prosecutors said Ennab attacked a woman who had missed her stop while on the 713 bus from Orient Heights to Winthrop Saturday shortly before 7:30 p.m. She apparently did not speak English and used a translator app to ask the driver to take her back to Orient Heights.
Ennab allegedly shut off the bus, sat next to the woman, and put an arm around her and kissed her cheek. He allegedly then told her he could get her a green card, which she said she did not need and that she has a husband.
The victim asked to be let off the bus, but Ennab allegedly refused to do so. Prosecutors said the suspect sexually assaulted her, and that the victim had recorded audio of him saying “Me, I’m boyfriend for you, it’s okay.”
The suspect allegedly let her off when an unidentified woman walked by the bus.
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Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins called the allegations “deeply disturbing.”
“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 is employed by Paul Revere Transportation as a contract driver for them MBTA.
In a statement to WBZ-TV, the transportation company said while they are “prohibited from commenting directly about underlying allegations, Paul Revere maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding any alleged criminal activity by any employee.”
The company said Ennab has been suspended and they will continue to work with law enforcement.
The MBTA told WBZ-TV that “these disturbing allegations are abhorrent and intolerable,” and that the “individual will no longer operate a bus for the MBTA.”
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(Photo: Mario Jarjour/WBZ NewsRadio)