A group of teenagers have been arraigned on hate crime charges after allegedly assaulting and harassing a woman they believed to be an immigrant on an MBTA train last week.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office says that the 49-year-old victim was harassed by three teenagers after boarding a Red Line train at Savin Hill Station around 7:40 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 7.
The teenagers allegedly mocked the woman’s accent and told her to "go back to [her] own country." The woman was then repeatedly punched and struck in the face with a cell phone when she tried to leave her seat, according to prosecutors.
A witness pressed the train's emergency call button to report the assault at Andrew Station. One witness said the teenagers were “celebrating” when they left the train. Transit Police detectives were able to identify the teenagers from a photo taken by witnesses.
A 15-year-old female from Mattapan and 15-year-old female from Dorchester were arraigned on Wednesday, Nov. 9 in connection with the assault two days earlier. A 15-year-old female from Dorchester was on arraigned Monday, Nov. 14.
All three are charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and civil rights violation causing injury. The teenagers are due back in court Nov. 30.
Prosecutors obtained orders protecting the victim’s name and personal information from the teenagers.
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In a press release, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley praised the witnesses who notified authorities of the incident.
"The immigrant experience is encoded in our nation’s DNA,” said Conley. “We want to make sure that everyone feels safe and secure, no matter who they are, where they’re from, how they speak, or how they define their families. There’s no room for behavior like this – period."
