MD Man Convicted After Filming Himself Touching Woman's Hair

SILVER SPRING, MD — Bryan Betancur, a 28-year-old man from Silver Spring, was found guilty of simple assault Wednesday after touching a woman's hair on a Metro train.

The ruling came down in the D.C. Superior Court, as the incident at the center of the case occurred at the NoMa–Gallaudet U Station in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement that the conviction "underscores our commitment to protecting the safety and dignity of every passenger who relies on our public transit system."

"No crime is too small when it involves a person’s sense of security," she said.

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m.

A maximum sentence for the simple assault charge is 180 days, the majority of which Betancur has already served. He was ordered held in custody in April over a bail violation.

Betancur was arrested for the hair-touching on March 3, after his mother contacted authorities and requested that he be arrested, according to an affidavit.

The arrest came hours after police issued a wanted notice alerting the public.

The Red Line Incident

Court filings state investigators with the Metro Transit Police Department hadn't become aware of the D.C. case until March 2, when a woman reported seeing a social media post showing Betancur stroking her hair.

Solely identified in filings as CW-1, the woman informed detectives that the incident occurred Feb. 28 and stated that she had not consented to Betancur touching her.

During Wednesday's proceedings, she told the courtroom that Betancur's actions have severely impacted how she feels in public, NBC Washington reported.

"It was very upsetting and unsettling to see someone had touched me and posted about it on the internet without my consent," she testified.

"I think about this video every single day."

Pending Case In Virginia

In addition to the D.C. case, Betancur is also wanted in neighboring Virginia for livestreaming himself touching another woman's hair while traveling on the Arlington sector of the Metro.

Unlike the D.C. video, the Arlington footage includes a narration from Betancur.

The Virginia case was the first of the two hair-touching incidents flagged to investigators.

The MTPD was alerted to the Virginia case on March 1 by a member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's social engagement team.

Authorities ultimately built their case through surveillance footage, a review of SmartTrip registration records, analysis of the livestreamed video, and an examination of Betancur’s X account.

As the woman in the Virginia footage included her phone number in a SmartTrip account, officials were able to contact her and confirm she never gave Betancur permission to film or touch her hair.

In the Old Dominion State, Betancur is facing charges of assault and battery, fail to appear and fugitive with a felony arrest.

He is expected to be extradited to Virginia once proceedings come to a close in D.C.