NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Staten Island man was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for groping a woman on an MTA bus in 2018, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced.
The 53-year-old man, Allah Ali, sat next to the 24-year-old victim on Aug. 31, 2018 inside of the BM1 express bus after they both boarded on 23rd Street and Park Avenue in the Flatiron District, according to court documents.
Before sitting, Ali stood in the aisle of the bus and reached into the victim’s handbag which was on the seat next to her. She then grabbed the bag to move it to the other side.
With the seat empty, Ali sat down next to the woman and reached up her dress. When she told him to leave her alone while attempting to get away, he grabbed her chest and continued to touch and grab her and block her from leaving.
Ali then held the woman down on the bus seat and grabbed under her dress again before other bus riders pulled him off of her.
“Protecting New Yorkers and their right to travel freely on our subways and buses is of paramount importance to me,” Bragg said. “Allah Ali used force to terrify and sexually abuse a bus passenger and is now being held accountable. I thank the prosecutors and staff of our Special Victims Division and Sex Crimes Unit for their work in ensuring justice as well as the brave straphangers and MTA personnel who sprang into action to help. My thoughts are with the courageous victim who shared her truth with the jury as she continues to heal.”
Ali was found guilty of one count of first-degree sexual abuse on Nov. 28.
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