Newport Girl, 16, Sues Amtrak; Claims Porter Raped, Beat Her

A 16-year-old Newport Beach girl has sued Amtrak, charging that a railroad porter raped her while she was en route by train from Los Angeles to visit relatives in Texarkana, Tex., last November.

The civil lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court because the girl bought her $188 ticket here and because the several police agencies that could investigate the case have been hamstrung by jurisdictional issues, her attorney, William Yacobozzi Jr., said.

According to the lawsuit, the girl boarded the train, known as the Eagle, in Los Angeles on Nov. 18 and was traveling alone.

The suit alleges that an Amtrak porter befriended her and invited her to his quarters. On Nov. 19, in the vicinity of San Antonio, Tex., he beat and raped her, the suit alleges.

No criminal action has been filed, Yacobozzi said.

“There are investigations going on all over the place, but he has not been charged,” Yacobozzi added.

Clifford Black, an Amtrak spokesman in Washington, said the railroad had not seen the suit and could not comment. He also declined to discuss the porter’s status with the railroad, saying that it was an internal matter.

But Amtrak police in Chicago confirmed that an investigation is under way.

Police in San Antonio and the sheriff’s office in Bexar County, Tex., could not immediately say if they were pursuing the case.

The lawsuit, filed on the girl’s behalf by her mother, names the porter, Amtrak and Southern Pacific Co. as defendants, and seeks $10 million in damages.