If you saw the Boston Herald cover for today, you might think the Red Line is crawling with gropers--or, as Bostonist likes to call them, "T Bags"--even though it's the Green Line that spawned its own groper only recently. But Jessica Heslam took a look at the MBTA's recent crime reports and writes,

All told, 35 indecent assault and battery incidents reported on the MBTA in 2006 and 2007 took place on trains and at stations up and down the Red Line, the T’s second busiest subway line. That’s roughly 40 percent of the 87 reported on the entire transit system in that period.

The police reports reviewed by the Herald detail a range of lurid attacks by sexual predators, from exposing themselves in front female passengers, to masturbating, to grinding up against them, and grabbing and groping their breasts, buttocks and crotches.

Some of the attacks detailed are truly disgusting, and these T Bags need to get tossed in jail. It's worth noting that assaults such as those described in the Herald are "Part II Incidents" as described in yesterday's MBTA crime report, and Part II incidents are up by 12%. However, "Indecent Assaults" made up only 1% of Part II (lower-level) incidents in 2007, so it's not like we're suffering from a groper attack.

That information doesn't make it any better for those who have encountered a Red, Green, Orange, Blue, or Silver Line T-Bag, but don't assume that the Red Line is Groper Central. And, if you do encounter a pervert, follow the example of the young woman who helped nab the Green Line Groper and use your cell-phone camera. There's no reason to be embarrassed--you're helping out all the other women who might have to deal with these creeps.

The phrase "T-Bag" was coined by Bostonist's own Vidalia Shiraz. Shot of today's Herald cover.