A 27-year-old woman was groped by an unidentified person aboard a Bx15 bus near Third Avenue and East 169th Street in the Bronx's Morrisania neighborhood around 3 p.m. on September 16, and police still have not identified the person. The person touched the victim and performed a lewd act before fleeing the bus, and no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
As reported by News 12 New York, police are now asking for the public's help identifying the person wanted in connection with the sexual abuse case. The stretch of Third Avenue where the attack happened falls under the jurisdiction of the NYPD's 42nd Precinct, which has its station house nearby at 830 Washington Avenue, according to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
A Busy Bronx Corridor Under Scrutiny
The Bx15 is no quiet side-street line. It runs along Third Avenue between Fordham Plaza and The Hub at East 149th Street, logging more than 1.46 million passenger trips in 2025, per Wikipedia. That volume makes the corridor one of the busiest surface routes connecting commercial hubs across the South and Central Bronx, and it has seen trouble before: in November 2025, a driver on the same route was punched in the face near East 163rd Street and Third Avenue, an incident that sparked safety concerns along the line, according to a report from FOX 5 New York.
MTA buses are outfitted with multi-camera onboard surveillance systems, and the agency began piloting live security monitor screens near bus doors in 2024 to help deter crime and assist investigations, per Metro Magazine. Those onboard cameras automatically log footage that transit officials routinely share with NYPD detectives after reported crimes, though it remains unknown whether video from this particular bus captured a clear image of the suspect.
What the Suspect Could Face
Under New York Penal Law § 130.52(2), subjecting a passenger to nonconsensual sexual contact for sexual gratification or abuse aboard a public bus, subway, or train is classified as forcible touching, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and up to six years of probation, according to the New York State Senate. That subdivision was enacted in 2015 specifically to target nonconsensual sexual contact aboard transit vehicles. Separately, public lewdness under Penal Law § 245.00 is a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail, though it can escalate to First-Degree Public Lewdness under § 245.03 if committed in the presence of a minor.
Developers have also filed zoning applications for a nine-story, 286-unit residential building at 3565 Third Avenue, between East 168th and East 169th Streets, directly at the bus stop location where the assault occurred, as Hoodline previously reported. The site had housed a charter school building before demolition applications were filed later in 2026, underscoring just how much foot traffic and development activity now surrounds this stretch of Morrisania.
Part of a Wider Pattern on City Buses
This is not an isolated case. NYPD Crime Stoppers has launched similar public appeals in 2026 for suspects accused of committing lewd acts and groping female passengers on MTA bus lines in Brooklyn Heights and Bay Ridge, where suspects reportedly targeted solo female commuters before exiting at busy neighborhood stops. Individual cases like this one continue to surface.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish speakers, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips online through the Crime Stoppers website or on X at @NYPDTips. The public can submit information about the case through the hotline, the website or X. As of this report, it remains unclear whether any arrests have been made or whether witnesses aboard the bus saw the incident unfold.
