Here are examples of people who used the law to report street harassment.
1. New York, New York
Seventeen-year-old Annie Jiang was riding the N train in New York City, on her way to school, when she felt an object poking her. When she turned she was disturbed to see that a man was masturbating against her back.
She grabbed her cell phone and took a photo of him. She reported the creep to the dean of her high school. The dean called the police but she didn’t see the man in a collection of photos they showed her. The next morning, a detective went with her to the subway station and she spotted the harasser. The detective arrested him.
Daniel Barricella, 59, of Brooklyn, found himself charged with public lewdness, sex abuse and harassment, thanks to Annie’s phone and report.
“I was scared,” she told The New York Post. “He didn‘t look creepy; he just looked like a normal man. I reported it to the police to keep him off the streets, so he can’t do it to anybody else. The technology really makes a difference.
2. Boston, Massachusetts
A young woman would not let a public masturbator intimidate her during her trolley ride home from work.
When she realized what was he was doing, she shouted at him. No one else on the car reacted, however, so when he tried to bolt off the train, she went into “She-Hulk” mode and lunged at him as he tried to run away. She called the police and held onto him, berating him for his actions. The police charged him with open and gross lewdness and he was ordered to stay off the train in the future.
The story made the local news and the woman told the news reporter that she acted because, “I’ve had enough of being harassed on the street. I’m tired of it and I want it to end. It was the last straw.”
3. Kansas City, Missouri
A woman was trying on bras in a Kohl’s dressing room when she noticed a phone under her dressing room door. A man was laying on the floor, using it to film her topless. She screamed and chased him through the store, trying to get his phone.
Since she was still topless, she stopped when he ran out of the store, but other customers in the store continued the chase. They called the police, who caught with him three blocks from the store and arrested him under the charge breach of privacy. “When you feel violated, what you really want is for justice to be done,” she told news station KCTV-5.
4. Charlotte, North Carolina
A man was arrested for multiple incidents of flashing, all over the city of Charlotte,. He was arrested in February 2012 after exposing himself to women while he was riding a bike. He had also been accused of flashing a woman while she was walking her dog, and exposing himself to a jogger, amongst other incidents. Information from the victims, as well as anonymous tips, led investigators to the suspect.
He pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and public masturbation. He was sentenced to 80 days in the county jail, but the district judge suspended the sentence, as long as he completes two years of supervised probation, in addition to 72 hours of community services, and psychological assessment and treatment. If he is accepted into the county’s Mental Health Court treatment program, he must remain for two years.
5. Tucson, Arizona
A man verbally harassed and had “inappropriate contact” with three different girls from a local high school as they walked to school. They each reported it in separate incidents. A 58-year-old man matched all three girls’ descriptions and was arrested for the crime of molestation of a child.
6. New York, New York
Nicola Briggs is an assertive Tai-Chi instructor and when she felt someone rub up against her during her subway ride in New York City, New York, USA, one evening, she turned and saw a man exposing his penis to her. She decided to make a scene. She yelled out what she saw, called the police, and several passengers assisted her in making sure he didn’t escape while they waited for the police. One passenger took a quick video of the commotion and posted it on YouTube where it went viral, garnering 1.5 million views, as Nicola shouts, pointing at the man, “And then I see his penis out!”
Offender Mario Valdivia wore a condom—showing it was premeditated—and turned out to be a repeat offender who was not only charged with sexual abuse but also deported back to Mexico. Nicola said this of her actions during an interview with CBS news: “It’s about getting over the embarrassment of that circumstance…taking away the shame, from you, as a woman being violated—and bringing the shame back on the perpetrator.”
7. Yorba Linda, California
Two black law enforcement officials and their children moved out of Orange County and into Corona, after repeatedly being the victims of hate crimes in their neighborhood. They experienced rocks being tossed at their home, car tires being slashed, and acid pellets being fired into their garage, damaging their vehicle. The six-year-old son asked his parents why children said they refused to play with him at school because he was black, and the college-aged son reported that when he rode his bike to work, he was taunted with racial epithets and told to go back home by passerby.
Despite the fact that African-Americans make up only 1% of the population in Yorba Linda, they are the most frequently targeted group for hate crimes. A pastor at one of the county’s largest black churches said that congregants frequently share personal challenges related to being the minority in this town. The Orange County Human Relations Commission is where the wife reported the hate crime incidents, and they responded with a written letter, apology and commitment to wipe out hate in the area. The commission said it intends to share the story with local politicians, and conduct focus group or listening sessions to further gauge the experience of African Americans in Orange County.
8. Chicago, Illinois
A man was approached in a subway restroom by teenagers who began making fun of his hair, threatening him and making anti-gay comments. One of the attackers then pulled out a pocket knife, causing the victim to push past them and run out of the bathroom. They followed him and continued to threaten and yell insults at him. After one of the attackers dropped his bookbag and came towards the victim with his fists clenched, the victim called the police.
The three attackers have been charged with a felony hate crime charge and a misdemeanor count of aggravated battery in a public place.
9. Vancouver, Washington
While Priscilla Dang was on a run through Vancouver, Washington, two teenage boys bicycled toward her. One of them reached out and groped her. She knows kung-fu and she decided to physically confront them to let them know that what they did was not okay. She “pushed one of the teenagers to the ground and made him apologize. When the second teenager called her a derogatory term, Dang says she snapped, hitting him in the face several times while simultaneously dodging his punches.
When he pulled out a knife she used his bike as a shield until a passerby showed up and called 911. The 18-year-old suspect faced fourth-degree assault charges, while the 16-year-old was judged by a juvenile prosecutor.
10. New York, New York
A kippah-clad Jewish man was being harassed by a group of teenagers on a subway. They greeted him with a traditional Muslim greeting, and when the victim asked the teenagers to leave him alone, one responded with ethnic slurs. The victim took a picture of the ringleader with a cell phone, and he responded by taking the phone and issuing death threats to the victim. It is not clear who called the police, but the attacker was detained at the next train store, arrested, and eventually charged on eight counts including aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
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