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Times Square 'Woody' Claims Women Asked Him To Grope Their Butts
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 11, 2014
Modified Jan 11, 2014
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 11, 2014
Modified Jan 11, 2014
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On Thursday evening, a man who dresses as Woody from Toy Story was arrested for allegedly touching "numerous girls" in Times Square. Police told us that José Vasquez, 44, allegedly attacked two women, ages 21 and 22, in Times Square that day. But he claims the women asked him to grope them: “They asked me to grab their rear ends,” Vasquez allegedly told cops, according to the News.
Police added that one of the women began to “jump and scream” when she was groped. Vasquez, who lives in Clifton, NJ, has been charged with three counts of forcible touching and sex abuse. Woody joins a long list of creepy Times Square costumed characters who have been arrested in recent years for very bad behavior, including a punchy Spider-Man, a shovey Cookie Monster, a gropey Super-Mario, and an anti-Semitic Elmo.
Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a statement: “This is the latest in a long series of disturbing incidents that reinforce our belief that these costume characters must be licensed and regulated. We are looking forward to working with the new administration and City Council to come up with an equitable and effective regulatory solution.”
NYPD Sgt. Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeant Benevolent Association (SBA), previously told us he favored licensing and fingerprinting the costumed characters, a strategy which some council members are now getting behind: “I look forward to working on legislation to regulate this industry,” said Councilman Corey Johnson.
Tagged
arrest
Costumed Characters
jose vasquez
manhattan
Times Square
toy story
woody
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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