Woman sexually assaulted on Market-Frankford El

A 22-year-old woman carrying a baby was sexually assaulted on a SEPTA Market-Frankford El train late this morning morning by a man wielding a knife, police said.

The assault began not long after the woman boarded an inbound train around 11 a.m. at the Frankford Transportation Center at Bridge and Pratt Streets.

After she took a seat, her attacker sat next to her, took out a knife, and placed it to her side, police said.

The man then groped her while she held her infant in her lap, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman.

"He told her to be quiet. That's why other passengers weren't alerted," Vanore said.

When the train reached the station at Eighth and Market Streets, the man fled on foot, police said. The woman also got off the train at the station and called 911.

Unlike those on the Broad Street Line, Market-Frankford trains do not have video cameras, SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said.

The cameras have helped record crime on the subway, most notably a deranged man's vicious hammer attack of a rider Sept. 4.

SEPTA plans to install cameras on the Market-Frankford Line, Maloney said.

SEPTA officials and police are reviewing video surveillance footage from the Frankford Transportation Center to see whether they have images of the man and the woman.

The man was described as 30 to 40 years old, about 5-foot-3, and 150 to 160 pounds. He had slicked-back blond hair, wore a black shirt and pants, and his left ring finger was bandaged and in a splint, police said.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.

Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.