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Police: Serial Rapist Thwarted in Poconos

DELAWARE WATER GAP, Pa. — State police say it was just before 2 p.m. Friday when a young woman was at her vehicle in the parking lot of the Martz Bus Term...

DELAWARE WATER GAP, Pa. -- State police say it was just before 2 p.m. Friday when a young woman was at her vehicle in the parking lot of the Martz Bus Terminal in Delaware Water Gap, when Hector Colon, 57, tried to lift her dress, groped her, and tried to rape her while shoving her into her trunk.

"As far as women being abused that way, that doesn't fly with me. I'm sorry. If I was there, it would probably be a whole different story. I would have gotten arrested,” said Will Marcano of East Stroudsburg.

According to court papers, bystanders saw what was happening and jumped in to help, stopping the attack and holding Colon until troopers arrived to make the arrest.

"It's a good thing there were other people here, you know? It's a good thing there were people there and a good thing people were willing to get involved. That's the major thing,” said Rob Taylor of Milford.

Colon told state police he has done this before, to a woman in New York who never reported him, and in California, where he served three years behind bars for rape.

Newswatch 16 spoke with one Martz bus rider who says fellow passengers can be like family.

"We all see each other every day. We all ride the bus every day, and we've been doing it for quite a while. We're pretty friendly with each other. We all know each other. Everyone should jump in when someone is in need. It's the right thing to do,” said Daryl Chambers of Blakeslee.

According to court papers, Colon told troopers if he had not been stopped by those witnesses, he would have done something very bad.

"He belongs behind bars, so I'm definitely glad they caught him,” said Chambers.

In a statement to Newswatch 16, Martz management said: "We are extremely proud of our team and how they handled the incident which occurred Friday afternoon. They acted quickly and appropriately to contact the local authorities."

State police said Colon was not a passenger on a Martz bus. There is no word why he was in that parking lot in the first place.

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