Suspect in SEPTA sex assault masturbated in a probation office two weeks before, officials say — but wasn’t charged

The man accused of sexual assault on SEPTA’s Broad Street Line last week had masturbated in front of probation officers inside their Center City offices two weeks earlier, authorities said Thursday.

And though police took 28-year-old Quintez Adams into custody — landing him in jail for potentially violating his probation in a prior burglary case — they didn’t ask prosecutors to charge him with a crime for several weeks.

In the meantime, court records show, a city judge ordered that Adams be released and ended his probation. And just 12 days after that, police say, Adams sexually assaulted a woman on the subway.

Some in the court system are now questioning why Adam’s cases weren’t handled differently — and if they had been, whether it could have helped prevent Adams’ attack on the transit line.

Chief Inspector Frank Vanore said the Police Department would investigate its role and try to learn why the Special Victims Unit did not issue an arrest warrant for Adams over the obscene act in early April, even though he was apprehended after committing it in plain view of several probation officers.

“I can’t tell you why, other than [we’re] going to investigate it and see if there’s something that needs to be done,” he said.

Jose Martinez, president of the AFSCME District Council 47, the union that represents workers in the city’s Adult Probation and Parole Department, said its staff was blameless. “The fault doesn’t fall on [probation and parole] or its members,” he said.

Adams was convicted of burglary in 2014 and sentenced to serve up to three years in jail. His probation was then extended several times for violations.

On April 4, court documents say, Adams showed up to the probation offices in the 700 block of Market Street on the wrong day and appeared intoxicated. After he sat down, the documents say, a probation officer saw him masturbating. The officer called 911 and Adams was taken into custody, while the probation officer was taken to the Police Department’s Special Victims Unit for an interview.

Adams was jailed over the incident, a potential violation of his probation. But police did not file any new charges against him.

Still, probation officials filed documents in the case describing the incident for Common Pleas Court Judge Frank Palumbo. But a week later, on April 12, Palumbo ordered Adams released and ended his probation. His term of supervision had already been scheduled to expire earlier this year.

Palumbo did not respond to requests for comment.

On April 24, police say, Adams sexually assaulted a woman on the subway in an attack that was videotaped. They have released few additional details about the crime.

He was taken into custody Wednesday, and police said he had hospitalized for unspecified injuries he sustained before he was arrested.

As of Thursday afternoon, Adams had not been formally charged in either new case. It was not immediately clear if he had secured an attorney.