Brooklyn Woman Fights Off Knife-Wielding Perv On ‘R’ Train

SUNSET PARK – A Brooklyn woman dozing during her commute home early Friday morning awoke to an unwelcome sight.

The incident occurred at approximately 2am on February 23 on a southbound “R” train, according to the New York Daily News. The 42-year-old victim fell asleep on the subway while on her way home from work and woke up to 47-year-old Reggie Frank masturbating in front of her, the paper reports.

After she screamed, Frank sprayed the woman with pepper spray then pulled a folding knife out on her just as the train pulled into the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park. The two struggled, exiting the train and continuing their fight on the station platform where the woman managed to grab the knife and stabbed Frank in the chest and arm, according to the article.

A fellow commuter at the station helped the woman who sustained cuts to her hands that required 15 stitches.

This isn’t the first time Frank’s been caught masturbating on the MTA. He’s been arrested more than 20 times—including twice in 2015 for masturbating on the subway and twice in 2006 for exposing himself, the Daily News notes. Also in 2006, Frank pleaded guilty to pleasuring himself at the President Street/Nostrand Avenue subway station, according to the newspaper. He was carrying a knife in that incident as well.

Frank tells the paper that the knife used on Friday was not his and says he was “on the train minding my own business.” He is being charged with assault, possession of a weapon, public lewdness, and attempted sexual abuse.