Woman Groped Near Subway; Bragg Indicts Man for Anti-Gay Hate Crime
| 19 May 2025 | 11:12
Suspect wanted for forcible touching, April 25, 2025. (
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The common rap-music-related phrase “can’t stop, won’t stop” was never meant to include the crime of groping, and yet the reports keep coming in.
This week, NYPD is looking for a man wanted in connection with a forcible-touching incident that occurred within the confines of the Midtown South Precinct / Transit District 4. Details are follows:
On Friday, April 25, 2025, at approximately 10:15am, a 38-year-old female victim was in the vicinity of Park Avenue and East 33rd Street—aka the 33rd Street station on the Lexington Avenue line—when an unidentified individual approached her from behind and grabbed her buttocks.
The unidentified individual fled on foot, toward Park Avenue. The victim did not sustain any injuries.
Although the quality of the released photos is poor, they might be helpful to someone, and even in their fuzzed-out, blurry state, they reflect how seriously NYPD is taking such subway crimes.
The sought individual is described simply as a male. He was last seen wearing a black sweater, blue jeans, black baseball cap, and a black backpack. He appears to be wearing white wired earphones and holding a smartphone.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
Bragg Indicts Louisiana Man for Flatiron Hate Crime
On Tuesday, May 13, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Philip Wales, 30, for allegedly assaulting and harassing a gay couple in the Flatiron neighborhood.
Wales is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime and one count of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree.
According to court documents and statements made on the record, on March 7, 2025, at approximately 10:40pm, Wales approached the 41-year-old victim and his husband as they were walking along Sixth Avenue.
The couple walked past Wales as he shouted obscenities at them. Wales then turned back in their direction, ran up behind the victim and struck him in the head with a closed hand.
Wales continued shouting, and when the victim grabbed a large traffic cone to protect himself, Wales struck the victim in the face.
The victim’s husband stepped in and attempted to fend off Wales. The victim called 911 and flagged down a police car as his husband held Wales before he could flee.
The victim sustained a bump on his head, a cut to his lip, and bruising to his wrist.
According to Department of Corrections records, Wales is a Black male from Louisiana, 5-foot-11, 170 pounds. He is currently being held at Rikers Island on $5001 bail.