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NJ Transit Enforces One-Year Riding Suspension for Serial Offender
Serial Offender Banned: NJ Transit Takes Decisive Action to Protect Employees and Passengers from Lewd Acts
Washington Twp, Morris County, NJ - A Superior Court Judge recently granted NJ TRANSIT's request to suspend the riding privileges of a serial offender for one year. Sean Guinyard, 36, of Washington Township, had been charged with at least seven separate lewd acts directed towards female bus operators on NJ TRANSIT buses over the past two years.
The one-year suspension serves as a powerful deterrent for individuals who believe they can get away with such disrespectful behavior.
"NJ TRANSIT customers and frontline employees should never be subjected to physical assaults or this type of illegal behavior," said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett.
The latest incident resulting in the one-year ridership suspension occurred on August 31, 2022, on bus route No. 409 in Willingboro. Guinyard pleaded guilty to a 4th-degree contempt charge in Burlington County. NJ TRANSIT advocated for the Court to suspend Guinyard's bus-riding privileges as part of his sentence. Any violation of the suspension will be treated as a violation of his probation and could result in his immediate incarceration.
Governor Murphy signed the Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act (S4701) in January 2022, authorizing NJ TRANSIT and other public transit carriers to suspend or prohibit ridership for individuals who commit assaults against employees or otherwise jeopardize the safety and well-being of the riding public.
NJ TRANSIT is currently finalizing rules for administratively suspending ridership privileges for individuals who assault transit employees while safeguarding due process rights for offenders to appeal proposed suspensions. These regulations would create progressive sanctions, where the length of the suspension would increase with each subsequent offense. A Ridership Appeal Board will be established to review initial suspension determinations made by NJ TRANSIT.
Brian Wilton, NJ TRANSIT Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, emphasized the organization's commitment to safety: "By utilizing the provisions in the Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act, when the regulations are adopted, we can send a clear message that these reprehensible actions will have the strongest consequences possible."
