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Man Arrested 53 Times for Groping Women on New York Subway
Sunday, April 13, 2008
NEW YORK - About two weeks after he was released from prison, Freddie
Johnson boarded a crowded subway train during morning rush hour in
Manhattan, squeezed in behind a woman and ground his pelvis into her
backside, authorities said.
It is a fairly common crime on subways in New York. But this was no common
criminal.
Johnson has been arrested a staggering 53 times - the majority for groping
women on the subway, police and prosecutors said.
In the latest incident, Johnson was being followed by plainclothes officers
who recognized him from police photos, authorities said. He was charged with
persistent sexual abuse, and if convicted this time, he could be sent away
for life. The district attorney's office branded him a "recidivist transit
grinder" at a court hearing earlier this week.
But the fact that Johnson was roaming the subways in the first place has
raised questions about how the state deals with the problem of repeat sex
offenders. His case even drew the scorn of a newspaper editorial this week
that labeled Johnson the "Subway Rat."
His attorney, Afsi Khot, had no comment on the case, as is practice with
Legal Aid attorneys.
Johnson, a registered sex offender, has been convicted at least twice of
persistent sexual abuse within the last decade, prosecutors said. And he has
a lengthy rap sheet, with 30 arrests for sex abuse, 13 for jostling and two
for grand larceny, police said.
He was released from prison on March 25 after serving four years for
persistent sexual abuse, according to correctional records. The state
attorney general's office had argued that the 49-year-old should be confined
under the state's civil commitment law for sex offenders, which went into
effect last year, because he was at risk for repeat offenses.
But a Manhattan Supreme Court Judge disagreed and instead placed Johnson on
strict court-ordered supervision and electronic monitoring.
Whether he should have been confined speaks to a larger issue about what
authorities should do with criminals who are habitual offenders, but aren't
violent.
Around half of all so-called exhibitionists like Johnson are repeat
offenders, experts say. Exhibitionists have the highest rate of re-offense
of all sex crimes, but there isn't much crossover into more egregious acts
like rape or assault, said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of treatment and
rehabilitation of offenders at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
"Exhibitionism is disturbing, but in the larger scheme you want to commit
the people who are grabbing kids off the street, or the rapist in Central
Park," Jeglic said.
The goal of the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act that went into
effect last April is to protect society by keeping the most dangerous sex
offenders off the streets and provide long-term treatment to ensure they
don't repeat their crimes. To qualify, a criminal must have a "mental
abnormality," and be "predisposed" to repeat the offense, prosecutors said.
Out of 1,299 sex offenders initially referred to the program in New York,
163 have been recommended for civil commitment, according to a report
earlier this year by the state Office of Mental Health. Under the program,
sex offenders are committed, treated, monitored and eventually discharged.
While it's painful for the victim no matter the crime, the system doesn't
have room to deal with all offenders.
Currently, 10 percent of sex abuse cases are referred as possibilities for
the program, on par with other states that have similar laws, the health
department report said. It costs more than $100,000 per person per year to
confine them. And there is currently bed space for 181 offenders at three
facilities around the state. The development of 150 beds is under way, but
it's obvious there will be shortfalls unless long-term projects are
developed. Only 5 percent of those committed to the 19 other state programs
in the country have been released.
Jeglic said New Jersey, where a similar law has been in place for about a
decade, has run out of beds for offenders.
Either way, Johnson may end up behind bars for good if he's convicted in the
latest incident, because the Manhattan district attorney's office said it
will push for more serious punishment given his rap sheet. That means he
could get up to life in prison. If he's convicted solely on the most recent
charges, he could face four years.
A survey released last summer by the Manhattan borough president's office on
sexual harassment in the subways found that 63 percent of those responding
reported they were harassed in some way, whether it was random groping, lewd
comments or unwanted advances. The report was compiled from 1,790 responses
collected from New York City straphangers in all five boroughs.
Man Arrested 53 Times for Groping Women on New York Subway
Sunday, April 13, 2008
NEW YORK - About two weeks after he was released from prison, Freddie
Johnson boarded a crowded subway train during morning rush hour in
Manhattan, squeezed in behind a woman and ground his pelvis into her
backside, authorities said.
It is a fairly common crime on subways in New York. But this was no common
criminal.
Johnson has been arrested a staggering 53 times - the majority for groping
women on the subway, police and prosecutors said.
In the latest incident, Johnson was being followed by plainclothes officers
who recognized him from police photos, authorities said. He was charged with
persistent sexual abuse, and if convicted this time, he could be sent away
for life. The district attorney's office branded him a "recidivist transit
grinder" at a court hearing earlier this week.
But the fact that Johnson was roaming the subways in the first place has
raised questions about how the state deals with the problem of repeat sex
offenders. His case even drew the scorn of a newspaper editorial this week
that labeled Johnson the "Subway Rat."
His attorney, Afsi Khot, had no comment on the case, as is practice with
Legal Aid attorneys.
Johnson, a registered sex offender, has been convicted at least twice of
persistent sexual abuse within the last decade, prosecutors said. And he has
a lengthy rap sheet, with 30 arrests for sex abuse, 13 for jostling and two
for grand larceny, police said.
He was released from prison on March 25 after serving four years for
persistent sexual abuse, according to correctional records. The state
attorney general's office had argued that the 49-year-old should be confined
under the state's civil commitment law for sex offenders, which went into
effect last year, because he was at risk for repeat offenses.
But a Manhattan Supreme Court Judge disagreed and instead placed Johnson on
strict court-ordered supervision and electronic monitoring.
Whether he should have been confined speaks to a larger issue about what
authorities should do with criminals who are habitual offenders, but aren't
violent.
Around half of all so-called exhibitionists like Johnson are repeat
offenders, experts say. Exhibitionists have the highest rate of re-offense
of all sex crimes, but there isn't much crossover into more egregious acts
like rape or assault, said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of treatment and
rehabilitation of offenders at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
"Exhibitionism is disturbing, but in the larger scheme you want to commit
the people who are grabbing kids off the street, or the rapist in Central
Park," Jeglic said.
The goal of the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act that went into
effect last April is to protect society by keeping the most dangerous sex
offenders off the streets and provide long-term treatment to ensure they
don't repeat their crimes. To qualify, a criminal must have a "mental
abnormality," and be "predisposed" to repeat the offense, prosecutors said.
Out of 1,299 sex offenders initially referred to the program in New York,
163 have been recommended for civil commitment, according to a report
earlier this year by the state Office of Mental Health. Under the program,
sex offenders are committed, treated, monitored and eventually discharged.
While it's painful for the victim no matter the crime, the system doesn't
have room to deal with all offenders.
Currently, 10 percent of sex abuse cases are referred as possibilities for
the program, on par with other states that have similar laws, the health
department report said. It costs more than $100,000 per person per year to
confine them. And there is currently bed space for 181 offenders at three
facilities around the state. The development of 150 beds is under way, but
it's obvious there will be shortfalls unless long-term projects are
developed. Only 5 percent of those committed to the 19 other state programs
in the country have been released.
Jeglic said New Jersey, where a similar law has been in place for about a
decade, has run out of beds for offenders.
Either way, Johnson may end up behind bars for good if he's convicted in the
latest incident, because the Manhattan district attorney's office said it
will push for more serious punishment given his rap sheet. That means he
could get up to life in prison. If he's convicted solely on the most recent
charges, he could face four years.
A survey released last summer by the Manhattan borough president's office on
sexual harassment in the subways found that 63 percent of those responding
reported they were harassed in some way, whether it was random groping, lewd
comments or unwanted advances. The report was compiled from 1,790 responses
collected from New York City straphangers in all five boroughs.
