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What Do You Do When Someone Exposes Himself To You On The Subway?
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 19, 2014
Modified Sep 19, 2014
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NYPD
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 19, 2014
Modified Sep 19, 2014
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Earlier this week, the NYPD sent out the above photo of a man who allegedly exposed himself to a female rider on the G train. After we shared the photo, a tipster emailed us to tell us she too had been subject to the suspect's public lewdness, but was unable to report him at the time. Per the tipster:
The man pictured in your article also exposed himself to me on August 9 also on the same train, there were no MTA workers I could have reported this to that night. He had followed me around around on the train, as I tried to get away from him, he also stood by the doors to exit at the same station as me, 4 av 9 st. Out of fear I ran out of the station and did not report it since I didn't have a picture or proof that he was following me. Is there anything I can do ?
Our tipster raises an interesting point—how late is too late to report a crime of this nature? And how seriously will the NYPD take your statement, particularly if you have no visual evidence and over a month has passed since the initial incident?
We spoke with Sergeant Buthorn at the NYPD's press office, who told us that in our tipster's case, she should report the crime, since the incident suggests the suspect's actions are part of a pattern, and could net him higher charges. He also suggested she recall as many details as possible (time of day, what train she was on, etc.) so investigators could have a better timeline of when and where the suspect is exposing himself. And the NYPD doesn't require photographs as proof—"If we required photos for every crime… well, that'd be crazy," he told us.
There's a somewhat hopeful ending to our tipster's nauseating story—she told us that after she contacted the NYPD, they called her and last week's victim in for a lineup.
Though it may seem obvious that, yes, you can report a crime after the fact, it's easy enough to let unnerving incidents like this go, particularly if you feel like you're usually not taken seriously by the NYPD, as was this tipster's case. And although visual evidence makes it much easier for the NYPD to identify a suspect, always consider your own safety first.
Tagged
flasher
g train
nypd
public lewdness
original
Rebecca Fishbein
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