NEWARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) — NJ Transit will suspend a man for a year after he was charged in seven separate lewd acts directed at female bus drivers, transit officials said Friday.
A judge granted the transit agency’s request to suspend Sean Guinyard, of Washington Township. The 36-year-old allegedly committed the lewd acts between May 2021 and August 2022.
The most recent incident, which occurred on Aug. 31 on bus route No. 409 in Willingboro, resulted in Guinyard's one-year suspension, according to the agency.
Guinyard pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree contempt charge in Burlington County. A Superior Court judge barred him from riding in NJ Transit vehicles as part of his sentence. A violation of the suspension is considered a violation of probation and could result in his immediate incarceration.
"NJ Transit takes these incidents against our employees extremely seriously and will not tolerate these actions on the public transportation system," said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. "We will use all of the tools available to us to prosecute violators to the fullest extent."
Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act, which allows NJ Transit and other public transit carriers to suspend or bar riders who assault employees or otherwise endanger the safety and well-being of the riding public.
In December, the NJ Transit Board of Directors approved a plan to begin the rulemaking process to administratively suspend ridership privileges for individuals who assault transit employees while also safeguarding due process rights for offenders to appeal proposed suspensions. Those rules are getting finalized for final adoption.
"Let this ban serve as a clear reminder that NJ Transit will not tolerate assaults of any kind on our employees," said Senior Vice President of Surface Transit and General Manager of Bus Operations Mike Kilcoyne. "We commend the actions taken to put an end to this individual’s behavior."
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