LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A man charged with groping three women and a female minor on the Metro Red Line received a jail sentence, a ban from all Metro stations and mandatory sex offender registration, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced today.
``People should be able to use our transit systems without troubling and frightening harassment, abuse or worse,'' Feuer said. ``Public transit is essential to the future of our city, and we must do all we can to ensure our moms, kids -- everyone -- can ride without fear.''
Ager Linder, 26, entered a plea of no contest to two counts of sexual battery and two counts of battery against a transit passenger. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation, mandatory lifetime sex offender registration and ordered to serve 450 days in county jail.
Linder was also ordered to complete one year of a sex offender treatment program and stay 100 yards away from all Metro trains and stations.
Linder was charged with victimizing at least four females on three occasions while riding the Metro Red Line between July and December 2017. He is accused of grabbing the victims' breasts, buttocks or other body parts.
Linder also has five prior convictions for similar conduct.
``The conviction of Mr. Linder is an important step forward in the fight against sexual harassment and assault on public transit," City Councilwoman Nury Martinez said. ``Every day, women from across Los Angeles rely on the city's transit system to commute to work and back home. It is important that Metro and law enforcement continue to work together to put a stop to crimes against women on public transportation."
Linder's conviction comes after the City Council's Public Safety Committee earlier this week requested that the Los Angeles Police Department report on efforts and strategies to combat sexual harassment of Metro riders after a survey of about 23,000 Metro riders conducted by the nonprofit organization Peace Over Violence showed 22 percent of respondents had experienced sexual harassment while using the system.