Here’s a victory, pick-me-up kind of street harassment story.
Seventeen-year-old Annie Jiang was standing on an N train in New York when she realized a man was masturbating against her back. She took a cell phone picture of him and when she got to high school, told the dean. The dean called the police.
The next day she spotted him again at the Eighth Avenue stop. This time a detective was with her and arrested him. Daniel Barricella, 59, of Brooklyn, was charged with public lewdness, sex abuse and harassment.
“Jiang said she was glad she can ride the train again in peace.
‘I was scared,’ she said. ‘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.’
Jiang, the dean, and the police force are super stars!! Woohoo! Take that harasser.
As Jiang noted, it can be very scary when you’re being harassed, and if you’re too afraid or feel unsafe to do something at the time, reporting is a great option. As this story shows, it can make a difference.
(Thanks for the tip, Violet)
