A registered sex offender molested a woman on a subway train earlier this week—and it turns out he has a long history of forcibly touching women on mass transit.

The incident took place during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, June 26th, at about 8:50 a.m. According to the NYPD, the suspect and the 37-year-old woman were on an L train from Bedford Avenue to 1st Avenue when he "placed his hand under" her "dress and rubbed her genital area."

The victim, who is apparently a traffic cop who was off-duty at the time, reportedly tried to follow him out of the train but she lost him. She was able to take a photograph of him.

The traffic agent did confront him, according to WABC 7, and he allegedly replied, "It's crowded."



Images of Gian Verdelli from the NYPD

The suspect, Gian or Giovannia Verdelli, 67, was arrested on Friday and charged with persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching, and sexual abuse.

In 2012, Verdelli was arrested for groping the same woman on two different occasions on a PATH train, and reports at the time noted that this was his 169th arrest, with past arrests including trespassing, fare beating, drug possession, and forcible touching.

Earlier this week, some MTA board members expressed their support for a ban on subway recidivists, including sex offenders.