crowded subway, and the intense reaction is caught on camera. why is this person keep pressing up against me? i realize you have all this space here? you guys see his penis out! furious, the woman confronts her assailant. i m escorting you to the police station, okay? oh, yes. oh, [ mute ] yes. september 4th, 2010. 5:45 p.m. new york city. nicola briggs boards a crowded subway train. i was headed downtown to meet a friend to go to dinner in chinatown. so i was dressed up and feeling very relaxed and comfortable. nicola finds a spot near the door.
i ve never yelled the word penis out in public before, ever. i knew that within every fiber of my being i would do anything it took, anything possible in my power to make sure that he was sent away with the cops that night. the perpetrator is stunned, standing in the middle of the train let me see yeah, i m serious. he covers himself with his bag. i think he was embarrassed to be caught. he actually tried to enter into some sort of conversation with me. i m not leaving your side. but at that point, when someone violates you in that way, conversation time is over. transit police are notified by the conductor. nicola stays with the suspect. where the [ mute ] is the conductor? and i thought oh, he s going to get away. he s going to get away. the train stops at the 42nd street station, and transit
entire subway car. that s it! i ve never yelled the word penis out in public before, ever. i knew that within every fiber of my being i would do anything it took, anything possible in my power to make sure that he was sent away with the cops that night. the perpetrator is stunned, standing in the middle of the train let me see yeah, i m serious. he covers himself with his bag. i think he was embarrassed to be caught. he actually tried to enter into some sort of conversation with me. i m not leaving your side. but at that point, when someone violates you in that way, conversation time is over. transit police are notified by the conductor. nicola stays with the suspect. where the [ bleep ] is the conductor? and i thought oh, he s going to get away. he s going to get away.
the train stops at the 42nd street station, and transit police arrive shortly after. he didn t get two steps off that train, and he was in handcuffs. the perpetrator is identified as mario valdivia. my heart was still beating, just pounding thinking, gosh, i ve got to make sure they take him down. he s arrested for forcible touching, a misdemeanor offense, and he s found to be an undocumented immigrant. released on bail, he commits a similar offense on the subway just six weeks later. he was what i would call a menace to society. valdivia pleads guilty to both crimes and serves four months in jail. registered as a sex offender, he awaits deportation. nicola has no regrets, and continues to encourage women to defend themselves. don t let anyone take your power away and don t let good manners ruin your day, either. it s your right to speak up.
i remember i was holding the pole, and i remember another arm outstretched across. it was obviously a man s arm. what nicola doesn t know is the man standing beside her is a pervert. you know, i don t like why does this person keep pressing up against me and i realize you have all this [ bleep ] space here and i see his [ muted ] out. that s it! a passenger records the confrontation on a cell phone. when i turned around and i saw this person, his erect penis was out of his pants and he was wearing a condom and i realized what he had been doing. he had been trying to get off on me. nicola s small stature might make her look like an easy target but what the man doesn t know, she s an expert martial artist. fully prepared to defend herself. i said, i don t want to touch you, but if i have to, i will. nicola holds her ground. i know what i saw. and gets the attention of the