SUFFOLK COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) -- In a push to make mass transit safer, a customer was temporarily banned under a new law that was passed in 2020.
A rider by the name of Michael Harewood is forbidden from riding on the LIRR for two years.
It is part of his sentence for sexually abusing a conductor.
"This case demonstrates the urgency of our call for the justice system to pursue bans for those criminals who seek to target transit workers or customers," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "We must do everything in our power to keep riders and workers safe, and by banning this criminal from the system, the Court has done just that. He's a bad actor who was clearly using the railroad not for transportation but to commit crimes; that won't happen for the next two years with this individual.
Harewood took a guilty plea in the case.
Under the law, MTA passengers can be banned for up to three years.
An order of protection was issued to the conductor who was attacked.
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