A man has been arrested for punching a woman on a Brooklyn train after she criticized him for “manspreading.”
Derek Smith, 56, was taken into custody on Saturday after assaulting Sam Saia, 37.
“It was a big relief for me,” Saia said after hearing about the arrest. “I’m happy that he’s caught.”
Saia was on the N train when the man beside her opened his legs wide which crowded her into the side of the train car.
When she asked him to stop, the man got angry and in her face. “B—-, you ain’t nothing! I’ve raped white b—–s like you, you f—ing c–t!” the man screamed at her.
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Then he punched her in the face, splitting her lip and causing her to hit her head on the subway car wall. Another person on the train rushed to her aid and Smith got off at the next stop.
This is not the first time Smith has been arrested. One of his two previous crimes was sexual abuse.
Saia claims she tried to file a police report about the incident but was given the runaround at first. The NYPD has since opened an investigation and she is looking forward to the ordeal being over.
“If I don’t have to, I don’t want to face him again,” she said. “I just want this to be over.”