bystanders

Some time ago I was greatly disturbed by an article which announced that a state judge ruled that New York Subway  employees who stood by as mere spectators as as a young woman was gang-raped were innocent of any wrong doing.  The judge stated that the workers had no obligation to help the girl regardless of the all of the safe options that such onlookers had to help the woman such as the telephone, walkie-talkies, or at least the intercom system.