BOSTON — A Jamaica Plain man with a violent criminal record stretching back two decades walked onto a Silver Line bus last month, sexually assaulted the driver in broad daylight, and walked off a few stops later like nothing happened.

Five hundred dollars.

On March 26, sometime between 11 a.m. and noon, Vandenbroeke boarded the Silver Line at the Massachusetts Avenue and Washington Street stop. The driver dropped a perfume bottle. He picked it up. A normal interaction — for about three seconds.

As he handed it back, according to prosecutors, he grabbed her face, poked her in the eye, put his hand on her chest, and groped her breast. She pushed his hand away and yelled. He sat down at the back of the bus and rode a few more stops before getting off.

The whole thing was recorded on the bus surveillance system.

Transit police distributed stills from the footage and arrested Vandenbroeke four days later at Nubian Square station.

Prosecutors told the court Vandenbroeke has multiple convictions for violent offenses going back to 2005. The DA's office did not detail those prior convictions, but twenty years of violent crime and a $500 bail tells you everything you need to know about how the system handles repeat offenders.

DA Kevin Hayden called the incident "an intolerable affront" on transit workers and public transportation riders. He's right. But an intolerable affront met with a $500 bail isn't exactly a deterrent.

Vandenbroeke is due back in court April 21.