Cops cuffed a man who they say has groped or exposed his junk to women in Williamsburg and Greenpoint at least 10 times over the past several weeks.
Police said they arrested the 20-year-old suspect early on Thursday morning at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Humboldt Street, after one of the victims recognized the alleged groper on the street and alerted the authorities.
The alleged serial offender had been on a spree of approaching women on the street and grabbing or smacking the butts or exposing his nether regions to them, usually while the victims were out walking between the hours of 6:30 am and 8 am, cops said.
One victim says she has mixed feelings after the arrest, because she fears other creeps are still out there.
“I am really happy and I feel safer from this particular person, but I do not think it solves all the problems in society,” said Andrea Larsen, who said she was touched by the same guy on two separate occasions while out walking her dog. “At least I was happy that I could leave my house this morning.”
Larsen, who identified the suspect in a police lineup on Thursday night, said she also worried that the alleged attacker would not be off the streets for long, since cops have only charged him with misdemeanors, which carry a maximum sentence of a year.
“How much time will he really do?” she said.
The man is facing charges of sexual abuse, forcible touching, and public lewdness for 10 incidents, which took place between April 22 and June 3. Activists who worked to connect the various women and alert neighbors and cops to the alleged groper’s presence said they believe there are probably more victims who have yet to come forward.
