NYPD: Upper East Side Groper May Have Struck Again
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - He's at it again, apparently.
Police think the serial groper who has been molesting women on the Upper East Side may have struck again over the weekend.
The most recent incident took place Saturday night inside the subway station at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Police said a man followed a 21-year-old woman and tried to snap a photo up her skirt.
The man ran off, but the woman ran to the police. She gave the same description other victims of the groper had given: the suspect is 4'11", 120 pounds, spiky hair, with a gap between his teeth.
The same suspect allegedly groped nine other women since January. All the women he approached were in their 20s and early 30s.
He last struck July 19th. Heather Kirkpatrick was followed by the groper and confronted him.
"He wasn't intimidating at all to me so I didn't really think anything of it," Kirkpatrick said. The suspect had followed her off the number 6 train at 77th Street and Lexington Avenue, asked her for directions, and then tried to follow her to her apartment.
"I turned around and saw him right there. And I just said 'What are you doing,' like, really aggressively. And he just paused for a second and just took off," Kirkpatrick said.
Police released remarkably clear surveillance video of the suspect. They're asking for the public's help in catching him. If you recognize him or have any information on the case, police are asking for you to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). All calls are kept confidential. You can also supply information via their website, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.
New York City has seen an apparent spike in groping incidents, recently. An alleged groper was nabbed in Queens, a man was arrested for allegedly groping women in Central Park, and police are hunting another groping suspect who rides a bike. All of those incidents took place in the last month.
If caught and convicted, what would the appropriate punishment be in this case? Sound off in our comments section.
