ST. LOUIS — An East St. Louis man was charged with multiple crimes after police said he attempted to rape women at underground MetroLink stations in downtown St. Louis earlier this month.
Dartarius Gibson, 37, was charged with two counts of rape or attempted rape and one count of sodomy or attempted sodomy in connection with the incidents police said happened on April 18 and 19.
According to a probable cause statement, the first incident happened on April 18 at the Convention Center MetroLink station. Officers said Gibson approached a woman twice to ask her for directions. He then left and returned with his genitals exposed.
Police said the woman ran away, but Gibson chased her down, punched her in the head and knocked her down. Police said he then put his hand inside her pants and touched her before forcibly removing her pants and underwear.
The woman started screaming, which attracted the attention of others, at which time Gibson ran off.
A day later, police said he approached a different woman at the MetroLink station at 8th and Pine. He asked her for directions before returning with his genitals exposed, police said.
The charging documents allege he choked the woman, wrapped his arms around her torso and reached into her shirt to touch her breast.
The woman struggled with Gibson before he pulled her pants and underwear down. She was able to fight him off and get away to call police.
“It’s very frightening. No one should have to be scared to ride a train and go to their surroundings,” said Cynthia Bosley-Head.
“I’m always looking around and keeping my head on a swivel. Today, I took a train from University City to Enterprise Center, and I saw at least one security officer on the train,” said Bosley-Head.
Both incidents were caught on security video, according to the probable cause statement.
“It is scary to hear that. My heart and prayers go out to those two women,” said Denise Lowe, of Chicago, who is visiting St. Louis and riding MetroLink trains this week.
"I also think women especially need to remember how to protect themselves. You got your purse, your cellphone and even your knees. I know that sounds silly, but hit them hard, hit them low and run. Do whatever it takes to not get violated,” added Lowe.
Gibson was taken into custody and is being held without bond.
The general manager of security for Bi-State Development, Kevin B. Scott, provided the following statement:
"At the request of our customers, our partners, and the public, we are in the process of enhancing all aspects of our security platform through the Secure Platform Plan, which includes gating and fencing the MetroLink system at the platforms, and includes other assets including upgrading our video surveillance system, In fact, the cameras in our newly established Real Time Camera Center were instrumental in locating the suspect and that lead to his arrest Wednesday afternoon by our partners at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. We appreciate their partnership and coordination to apprehend the suspect without incident. All other questions about these specific crimes should be directed to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
"We will continue to improve all the capabilities of our security system components as part of the Secure Platform Plan, which will increase the safety and security of riders on the MetroLink system. However, we cannot have security on every MetroLink platform or on every train or guarantee there will not be any incidents on our transit system. That is not realistic since we are not immune to the crime occurring in the neighborhoods we serve and those incidents do spill over onto our system. What we can guarantee is that we will have a rigorous collaboration with our police partners and will always provide a professional response to gain the confidence of the transit riding public. We are disappointed when things happen on our transit system and in our city, and we are committed to the fundamentals of our security approach, which are partnerships, infrastructure investment, and a gated access system."