This is really a nasty one. According to various news reports, an alleged July 7 sexual assault occurred involving a 22-year-old female passenger who was alone on the bus. She is reportedly "mentally impaired," functioning like a 5- or 6-year old child. The driver accused of the assault is 50-year-old Ronald Elam, a 4-year DART employee. He has been charged with sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult, attempted rape – second degree, third degree sex offense against mentally defective individual, fourth degree sex offense, and assault second degree. He is being extradited to the State of Maryland because he reportedly drove his bus about a mile into Maryland, where the alleged assault occurred, and then returned to Delaware where he dropped the victim at her usual stop.
You can read various accounts of this incident in the News Journal, and here, here, and here.
Apparently, the July 7 incident was reported to DelDOT on July 11 by a member of the victim's family, a grandmother according to some of the reports. It was not until yesterday, July 28, that the Delaware State Police finally got around to arresting Mr. Elam. DART was able to use GPS data to determine that the incident took place just over the line in Maryland, and tape footage of the assault was found. With such unusually good evidence reportedly available, why did it take over two weeks for this very serious incident to be investigated and an arrest to be made? It looks like somebody dropped the ball... DelDOT? The police?
I hope there is some investigative follow-up on this delay. In the meanwhile, it appears that a reported predatory criminal was allowed, for a period of more than two weeks after being reported, to continue to have the opportunity to prey on vulnerable Paratransit riders.
You can read various accounts of this incident in the News Journal, and here, here, and here.
Apparently, the July 7 incident was reported to DelDOT on July 11 by a member of the victim's family, a grandmother according to some of the reports. It was not until yesterday, July 28, that the Delaware State Police finally got around to arresting Mr. Elam. DART was able to use GPS data to determine that the incident took place just over the line in Maryland, and tape footage of the assault was found. With such unusually good evidence reportedly available, why did it take over two weeks for this very serious incident to be investigated and an arrest to be made? It looks like somebody dropped the ball... DelDOT? The police?
I hope there is some investigative follow-up on this delay. In the meanwhile, it appears that a reported predatory criminal was allowed, for a period of more than two weeks after being reported, to continue to have the opportunity to prey on vulnerable Paratransit riders.
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