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Two Desnudas Assaulted, Another Arrested For Prostitution In Times Square
By
Emma Whitford
Published Sep 3, 2015
Modified Sep 3, 2015
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Sep 3, 2015
Modified Sep 3, 2015
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A 46-year-old Bank of America Executive from Charleston, South Carolina was arrested last night, after allegedly assaulting two women who pose painted and topless for tips in Times Square, known as desnudas.
According to a spokeswoman for the NYPD, Mark Walters took a picture with a 20-year-old woman shortly after 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, near the corner of Broadway and West 44th Street. He then "became irate," and "dragged" the woman to the ground by her hair. When a 32-year-old woman attempted to break up the "fight," Walters allegedly hit her in the right ear. The 20-year-old victim was taken to St. Luke's Hospital with head and neck pain, and Walters was charged with assault.
The News identifies the victims as desnudas Lourdes Carrasquillo, 20, and Maria Ruiz, 32. According to the tabloid, Walters accused Carrasquillo of stealing his wallet before assaulting her, although cops have found no evidence to support this claim.
Desnuda Saira Nicole, 29, left Times Square early yesterday, and was upset to hear that Carrasquillo was hurt in a confrontation over a wallet. "She is a good friend of mine and I'm actually very concerned about her being assaulted," she said. "Lulu is a little hot-headed and hot-tempered, but stealing a wallet is something she would never do. She is a tiny little thing. My feelings are hurt that she was hurt."
Later that night, in an unrelated incident, undercover officers arrested a desnuda after she allegedly agreed to perform oral sex on an undercover officer for money. Her male acquaintance, who allegedly sold drugs to the officers, was also arrested.
According to an NYPD statement, undercover officers "engaged in a conversation" with a "Painted Lady" identified as 20-year-old Destiny Romero, near the intersection of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue at 9:00 p.m. The officers were "subsequently introduced" to Jason Perez, 22, who offered to sell them cocaine and 5 Molly pills. The transaction took place at a "nearby location."
The Post reports that Perez and Romero met the cops outside the Lexington Hotel at 48th Street around midnight, where Romero allegedly agreed to perform oral sex, although she did not perform the act.
Romero was then arrested and charged with prostitution, criminal sale of controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Perez was charged with promoting prostitution, criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of marijuana.
"Destiny doesn't have a team," Nicole said of Romero. "I don't know her personally, but she was always off to the side in front of the Hard Rock Cafe with her boyfriend. I've heard that they deal with drugs. When I think of the painted ladies, she's not someone I think of."
"I've seen her as recently as this week," she added, mentioning that Romero doesn't wear a headdress. As for the allegations of sexual favors, "I am very surprised and shocked about that."
In addition to the "Task Force To Curb Topless Individuals," helmed by Police Commissioner Bratton and City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod, Mayor de Blasio has called for a heightened NYPD presence in Times Square. "The NYPD will enforce any infractions of the law," he told reporters last month. "Their presence will be felt deeply."
"There are still girls out there being aggressive, and I do want them to be arrested," Nicole said.
She and two other desnudas say that they were illegally questioned at the Midtown South Precinct three weeks ago, after undercover police officers collected and removed their clothing, purses, cellphones and wallets from the pedestrian plaza at 42nd Street.
UPDATE: Reached via text message, desnuda Kara James (who asked to be referred to by an alias because of harassment other desnudas have received since being quoted in the media) described Romero as "bad news" and said she's "not part of [our] group of friends." As for her arrest, "Unfortunately, this is just going to make everyone think the worst of us again. I hope people are intelligent enough to understand that we're not all like that."
James was also upset to hear that Carrasquillo had allegedly been assaulted. "Where did he think she was hiding the wallet???" she wondered.
"You know what is interesting? We NEVER experienced this level of aggression or harassment from civilians before all of the news attention," she added. "We've been criminalized in the news and now people seem to think they can hurt us with impunity."
Tagged
arrest
Desnudas
mayor de blasio
nypd
painted women
Times Square
Emma Whitford
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