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BART driver accused of lewd advance: A BART train operator accused of inviting a female passenger into his cab and asking to fondle her has been charged with two misdemeanors, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office reported Wednesday.
Calvin Peter Tom, 49, of Brentwood, has been charged with soliciting a lewd act in public and false imprisonment in connection with the Aug. 4 incident.
BART has placed the 14-year train system employee on unpaid leave. He has since resigned, cutting off BART disciplinary proceedings against him.
Prosecutors said Tom allowed a woman and a young boy in his cab as Tom operated an eastbound train heading from the Rockridge station toward Orinda. In the tunnel between Oakland and Orinda, the driver whispered a request to fondle her breasts, prosecutors said.
When the woman objected and tried to leave the cab, authorities said the train operator blocked her path. The woman got off the train at Pleasant Hill and reported the incident to a station agent, triggering a BART police investigation.
A warrant has been issued for the man's arrest, prosecutors said.
"Having someone in the cab is a serious safety violation," BART spokesman Linton Johnson said. "If true, these allegations are conduct unbecoming of a BART employee."
— Denis Cuff
