An 18-year-old Yale student who allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the New York City subway is under fire after his past comments dismissing sexual harassment training as pointless.
As reported by the NY Post, Ari Shtein has been charged with sexually assaulting a 30-year-old traveling with four kids aged between 7 and 11 on the Manhattan R train last week. Police sources say she recoiled in horror, and he told her, “My bad, didn’t know you were going to react that way.”
Now it’s revealed that Shtein is a contributor to the student-run newspaper, the Buckley Beacon. In October, he railed against sexual harassment training, writing:
“For instance, sometime during our first couple weeks on campus, all freshmen were made to spend an hour and a half in a sex harassment training. … What exactly was the point of participation in this program, much less sevenfold participation? Was there anyone in that room who planned to go around harassing and assaulting their classmates, without the understanding that it would be wrong to do so?”
Shtein concluded, “harassment trainings help good-looking jeans-wearers to receive fewer compliments, women to feel more afraid of their classmates, and the campus community to become polarized against its administration and itself.”
His attorney says he’s done nothing wrong
Shtein is specifically accused of using two fingers to penetrate the unnamed woman as he stood behind her on the train. After being confronted, he’s said to have fled the scene, but surrendered to cops just after 7 am on July 8. He has been charged with sexual abuse, aggravated sexual abuse, forcible touching, and endangering the welfare of a child.
The student has now retained high-profile attorney Priya Chaudry (who also represented Jonathan Majors and director Paul Haggis) to fight the charges. She angrily dismissed the story in comments to the NY Post, saying: “Every strap-hanger has encountered unhinged people on the subway. Unfortunately, when Ari visited our city, it was his turn. Ari did not assault anyone. He was visiting bookstores with a friend when his life was turned upside down by a woman who falsely accused him of a vile crime.”
She added, “The allegation is nonsense. On the woman’s own version of events, she would have had to have been wearing a swimsuit for the alleged conduct to have been physically possible. The subway car was packed. If you were on that train, and witnessed this woman’s behavior, please contact my firm.”
Shtein was released without bail and is next scheduled to appear in the New York Criminal Court on August 26.
Published: Jul 10, 2026 08:41 am