Photo by infosnackhq via flickr

More disturbing news of yet another sexual assault case involving a WMATA employee…

Last Thursday, Metro Transit Police Department arrested a MetroAccess driver after investigating a report of a sexual assault involving a MetroAccess customer on January 28 in Prince George’s County.

According to the Metro Press Release:

Jose Del Castillo, 55, of Gaithersburg, Md., was charged with third degree sex offense and second degree assault on Thursday, April 8. Metro Transit Police arrested Castillo on Thursday in Gaithersburg and transferred him to Prince George’s County for arrest processing and arraignment.

“Metro Transit Police take these reports very seriously, conduct a thorough investigation and take the appropriate action, as evidenced by the charges that we filed,” said Jeff Delinski, Deputy Chief of the Metro Transit Police Department. “We do everything we can to protect Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess riders.”

Castillo worked for Challenger Transportation, a subcontractor of MV Transportation, the contractor that provides MetroAccess service. He was hired on May 5, 2009 after a background check revealed that he had no previous felony convictions or misdemeanors of a violent or sexual nature, per MV Transportation policy. Following the reported assault, Castillo was suspended without pay on January 30, 2010 and terminated on April 8.

Metro Transit Police also have been investigating a January 3 report of sexual assault involving a different MetroAccess driver that took place at Sixth Street and Brentwood, NE. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia has declined to prosecute the case at this time. The driver, 31, was hired on September 24, 2009, suspended without pay on January 3, 2010, and terminated on February 4, 2010.