More arrests for lewd conduct -- and more incidents -- reported on MBTA

By Globe Staff

The MBTA said today that Transit Police have dramatically increased the number of people arrested for lewd behavior on the transit system – and also that the number of reported incidents has also jumped when compared to 2009.

Sex Offender Registry Board

Donnie McLean

Through Sunday, Transit Police have made arrests in 35 cases where riders reported someone had engaged in an act of open and gross lewdness, compared to 19 arrests in 2009. That’s an 84 percent increase in arrests, the T said.

However, more incidents are also being reported – 48 so far this year compared with 28 during the same time frame last year.

Transit Police made their latest arrest on Friday when Donnie McLean was taken into custody after he allegedly exposed himself to a female passenger on a Route 28 bus.

Transit Police made their latest arrest on Friday when Donnie McLean was taken into custody after he allegedly exposed himself to a female passenger on a Route 28 bus.

McLean, 46, allegedly got on the bus when it stopped on Blue Hill Avenue and Callendar Street in Dorchester and then followed a woman through the bus. Deeply upset, the woman got off the bus at Ruggles Station and alerted authorities.

According to the Sex Offender Registry Board, McLean is a Level 3 sex offender who has two prior convictions for open and gross lewd conduct.