Two charged in gropings on MBTA trains

About 10 p.m. on Monday, a 19-year-old Revere woman was standing at a Copley station platform when she felt a hand on her buttocks, according to a police report. The startled woman then asked a friend if she did it, to which a man standing nearby replied, “I did it, and I liked it,” according to the report.

William D. Carlyle, 52, of Boston, was later apprehended at Park Street station after matching the suspect’s description. He was charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

Carlyle was arraigned today at Boston Municipal Court and will be held on $500 bail until a pretrial conference on Dec. 2.

Earlier Monday morning, at the Quincy Center station, police arrested James Williams, 44, of Chelsea, after a 29-year-old Quincy woman identified him as the man who groped her on a Red Line train in late June.

The victim said Williams verbally harassed her for seven stops after groping her at 7:30 a.m., according to a police report. Williams was also charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

Williams was arraigned at Quincy District Court and will be held on $800 bail until a pretrial conference on Dec. 4.

MacMillan said Transit Police began the awareness campaign, which plasters posters across MBTA property encouraging victims to speak up, because the gropings were an underreported crime.

“We’re highlighting the fact that this may occur, and what to do if it does,” he said. “Immediately draw attention to the fact that it’s happening; if possible, take cell phone pictures of the offender; and most importantly, report the incident.”

In the 18 months since the program began, there have been 99 reported incidents, up from 75 in the prior 18-month period. Arrests have also increased from 20 to 28.