August 24, 2005
Saw Something, Said Something
The R train stands for the "Really Rude" and "Retch": A woman who spied a man pleasuring himself on a train car decided to seize the moment and took a very clear cameraphone picture of the pervert. And then she went to the police; then she put it on her Flickr account with her telling of the incident:
I got off at 34th street and reported it to a token booth operator. She was very helpful and directed me to a policewoman. The policewoman wrote down my description of the man and I asked her if she wanted the picture but she didn't take it. She told me that she would radio other officers and they would be on the lookout for that man. I couldn't believe she didn't take the picture, it had a pretty clear view of this person.It is interesting that the policewoman didn't take the photograph; perhaps Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly needs to make flash memory cards for his officers standard issue! Gothamist can only hope that the new security cameras will also be used to apprehend the flashers, because it's bad enough the trains are hot and sweaty and sometimes smell and get stalled between stops, we don't need to be a part of some people's bad idea of fun. [Via digital brooklyn and Thom]
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Oh wow this has happened to a few of my friends way too many times.
This happened to me on Saturday night! I yelled at him and said "Can't you just wait until you get home?!" and moved to the next car.
welcome to New York!
This is almost as disturbing as the public poopers.
wait – women don't like that? [note to self: stop reading hustler.]
Holy shit--that's Stu from accounting!
lol What a Nark.
"The policewoman wrote down my description of the man and I asked her if she wanted the picture but she didn't take it."
She obviously had more important things to do, like looking out for REAL crimes.
I guess I should be more careful next time.
She should’ve at least have given the man her number. Seems like he liked her.
Another Matchmaking Possibility!
Sweet! BrooklynGirl caught an old-school flasher the same way not long ago. Let's hear it for cellphone-cam vigilantes!
Excuse me, but the article does not say you can see his FACE clearly.
i don't know – maybe it's me, but i've always found it kinda hot.
Kojak is a jackass.
This could be the start of a very interesting ad campaign for camera phones.
Don't be jealous Brinx. Sooner or later you'll get flashed too by someone who likes you.
one day...
that would be a waste of time for the police to hunt down that guy
Agreed b. There are prolific flashers that need to be taken care of though.
Philadelphia is still trying to hunt down Naked Zorro. He’s a slippery little rascal.
This guy looks like the guy on the "40 year old virgin" posters. I am wagering that this is just another viral marketing campaign cooked up by Donny Deutsch. He probably unleashed four or five public masterbators on the subway to promote the film. I would expect more of this in the next couple of weeks. This is more effective than his giant popsickle campaign.
Hey keep an eye out for Missed Connection on CraigsList.
"Hi, I saw you on the R train at 3pm on friday. We made eye contact a couple of times. I wanted to show my interest in you by showing you my member and what we could do if we went out. You seemed to enjoy it so much that you took a picture of me. I guess you were shy or running late because you ran off the train at 34th St. I didn't get a chance to say hi. Write me if that was you..."
omg!
it says she got off at 34th street...i guess she didn't have to specify where the perp got off...
traumatizing?! whatever... it's creepy.
now quit bugging the cops.
Whatev you are are totally fucking creepy and insensitive a motherfucker exposes his penis on the train in front of a woman and that's no big deal???? That is total harrassment and is very traumatic and horrible to be forced to watch someone masturbate and expose himself to you against your will. Who in the hell are you to judge what is traumatic to a woman especially if as I suspect you are a man. I hate that fucked up faux tough guy attitude " find a real crime" whatever so I suppose any man can whip out his motherfucking penis in front of any woman and if she complains or seeks to get him to stop then she is "bothering" the police. Looks like females are going to have to take the law in their own hands so all you motherfuckers better watch out. No motherfucker is going to expose himself in front of me that is exploitation of a captive victim.
This is scary because statistically many rapists expose themselves to women, sometimes in various settings, before going on to commit rapes. It's like not getting in trouble for jerking off in public makes them less afraid to go on to commit more horrible crimes. So, it may not seem like a big deal, but it can be a precursor to assault and rape.
I hope none of your daughters, sisters, or mothers end up in the same car as some dude who is jerking off. Would you tell them to calm down, stop bothering the police, and get over it?Nobody should be subjected to that crap on the subway - what other recourse does a woman have but to go to the police?
Since he's sitting right by a subway door, I would spray him with Pepper spray and run out as the doors are closing.
this is assuming I'm sitting right across from him and therefore next to a subway door, too.
that's a pretty good picture from a camera phone, which one is it?
Man, my pops is in trouuubble. seriously, LOOK AT THAT GUY! His face has no shame in it at all even when a person is taking a snapshot of him. He is in a perfect bliss trance. What time was this? how can a subway car at herald square be almost completely empty?
So is janet jackson exposing herself at the superbowl traumatic and harrowing BRIDGET? yeah, thought so.
What I really wanna know is what kind of cellphone camera takes that clear of a snapshot?
I was thinking on ways to improve security on subway cars and was thinking of installing security cameras on subway cars but instead of an old camera and tape recording device, I recommend a digital device like a digital camera. Instead of a blurry tape, you have a digital image which can be expanded and magnified. This security camera could however be criticized as a violation of civil liberties or something.
A celebrity exposing her breast on a stage has nothing to do with a man exposing his penis and masturbating in front of a woman on a subway train. THe former is called a performance, which implies that the audience members have at least some choice in the matter, ie they agreed to be performed for. The nature of sexual abuse assault whatever(which includes exposing of your penis against her will) is that the victim has NO CHOICE and the man is using her without her permission to get off sexually. And yeah my name is Bridget.
by the way JENNA what if there had been a child on the train????? Do you trust someone like that to refrain from his "little habit" then??? THOUGHT SO.
Tom, sheer brilliance!
why would the child care? the kids freeball all the time. It's hard enough to keep those brats in pants.
"a motherfucker exposes his penis on the train in front of a woman and that's no big deal????"
you are correct. it is no big deal. get a life.
wow, bridget is maaad. it's a body part that half the human population has. yeah, it's creepy to expose it in public and even worse to masturbate but to claim that is traumatizing is just pathetic. i guess we have different standards for what trauma means.
'captive victim'... whatever. there's nothing 'faux tough guy' about my opinion miss militant potty-mouth. it's just not that big of a deal in the scheme of things.
It's so funny how law-abiding people are so willing to shit all over other law-abiding people and victims of crimes, whether they're disturbing yet minor offenses like this or more serious things like murder. Meanwhile, at the end of the day, we all suffer at the hands of the 'harmless' pervs, the rapists and the murderers. I guess as long as idiots like the ones in this forum go out of their way to shout down those who actually stand up for themselves, crime will continue. Everybody knows that reporting 'petty' crimes and prosecuting offenders lowers overall crime. So shut up, insensitive asses. Stop trying to prove how "city" you are.
I am a survivor of rape incest and torture, on the streets and in my home, and motherfuckers like that have been traumatizing me since I was 3 motherfucking years old. Even if it is not traumatic for you there are a lot of people, men AND women, who it would be very traumatic for and that's just a fact. And I know from personal experience that when a guy gets used to exposing himself to you and gets away with it he's gonna move on to other things pretty quick. I've known that since I was three years old. Fuck you. And to Suzy: I have a nice life thank you very much and it doesn't include EVER having ANYONE man OR woman EVER hurt me again sexually in any way and get away with it no matter how "no big deal" it may seem to you.
"Everybody knows that reporting 'petty' crimes and prosecuting offenders lowers overall crime."
The No-Shit-O-Meter just went off the scale with that comment.
Through all the bullshit that’s been posted, the woman in the end did the right thing, even though I made her the butt of my many jokes. Even if it didn’t offend or bother the person being flashed or masturbated to, why not spare another stranger the same fate?
he didn't rape her. he didn't restrain or torture her. he didn't threaten to do anything to her. he jerked off in public. creepy and disturbing, yes, but you'd need to go a long way to prove that behavior is a gateway to rape. people have fetishes and public exposure is one. reporting it is fine, but bitching that the cops didn't take it seriously enough because it was so traumatic is where i take a different perspective.
Once again, Donny Deutsch has divided our community with
a harmful, self-promoting advertising campaign.
And for what? To sell some lousy cell phones?
It is an outrage and it must stop.
You' re lucky that you think it'd be going such a long way to prove that this mans' behavior could be a gateway to rape. Not everyone is so lucky.
The cops want people to report things like this, dimwit. If they notice a pattern, they will respond/investigate accordingly. If you joined a neighborhood group or participated in community policing you would know this. Stop opining about things you know nothing about. Stop slamming people for refusing to put up with crime and potentially dangerous antisocial behavior. I applaud this woman for having the courage to take the picture and go to the police.
it's not luck, it's just reality. i'm sorry you had a harsh experience, but you can't condemn a person as a rapist because you assume all petty crimes lead to violent crimes.
i'm sorry crimeisntcool, did you read anything or are you just spouting off to some figment of your imagination? i'll leave you to argue with yourself.
It's reality that in this day and age you're LUCKY not to be a victim of sexual assault in some form or another, you're lucky to be so sheltered as to think that a man flashing his penis and masturbating in front of a woman in a subway car is no big deal in the scheme of things. The only REALITY is that you are PART OF THE PROBLEM for advocating that this woman other women be SILENT when they feel violated/traumatized by a mans' sexual behavior, just because you would not feel violated. And as for you JENNA, as to you're question "what would the child care?" just ask me I was that child as were millions of other children male and female all over the world and being exposed to male (or females') sexual perversions at any time without anyone thinking it was a big deal or that I mattered enough to protect has left me fighting tooth and nail for the life you so sweetly told me to get. But I have a voice now and I'm here to tell you to go to hell.
Man, a couple of days ago I saw a little kid just take his pants off and start peeing outside a restaurant. ANd this morning I saw a little girl take her clothes off right in public so her mother could change her bottom. According to Bridget we must prosecute these little criminals to the fullest extent of the law. Throw the book at em. I'm sorry you were accosted when you were little BRIDGET. On the other hand YOU MUST BE REALLY HOTTT!
I think we should stop defending the public masterbater and all start blaming Donny Deutsch and his vulgar marketing campaign. "40 year old virgin is just a movie." Deutsch is terrorizing countless new yorkers by sending out his team of public masterbators to publicize the film.
"Everybody knows that reporting 'petty' crimes and prosecuting offenders lowers overall crime". You know what else would lower overall crime? putting electronic dog collars on everyone.
I guess Bridget is an advocate for "PENIS PROFILING"
yes, bridget, i'm so lucky and sheltered. but still, it's not about luck or your own personal experience. just like everyone who smokes pot will not end up shooting heroin, not every guy with a disturbing fetish is going to be a criminal rapist. i didn't say she should be silent, now did i. but your turning this into some kind of sexual offender witch-hunt when the guy didn't touch or threaten anyone. i'm advocating perspective.
If child pees in public that's somehow equivilant to a man masturbating in public ??? Get some help. And hijiki, no, you didn't explicitly tell her to be silent but you did blast her for talking.
What the fuck!?
Lighten up you say? Man up you say?
Oh, I pray that Karma inflicts you insensitive pricks with a nasty taste of public humiliation. Then take your own advice.
Hijiki, are you a woman? I ask because if you are, you are so goddman stupid you should not even be living in a city. This isn't about our hangups with nakedness or the beauty of the human form or people's personal kinks. It's about a pervert masterbating on a train. It's illegal.
"It's about a pervert masturbating on a train. It's illegal."
Just because it’s illegal doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
"It's about a pervert masterbating on a train. It's illegal."
as i was saying. the guy is no rapist or assailant. he jerked off in public which is a much lesser and unrelated crime. treat it for what it is. gross, disturbing, illegal but not grounds for a major man-hunt that an assault would justify.
i'm so goddamned stupid? you wish public humiliation on me? admirable ways to make your points. clearly you have a bigger bones to pick than the one i'm offering.
I think that someone would only wish public humilitaion on you because you so recklessly dismiss the public humiliation of someone else and maybe if you knew how it felt you wouldn't be so insensitive. On the other hand I think that you have already publicly humiliated yourself on this forum today and you did it all by yourself. You have succeeded in shouting down a woman who had the courage to stand up for herself after what was, TO HER(get it,her not you!) a violating experience. According to you, she was "bugging the cops" and it was "not a big deal". I think you are offering a pretty big bone to pick when you ridicule and deride and shame woman for going to the police after experiencing what TO HER (read what she wrote about it, she says it herself) was a violating experience that she wanted to try to prevent from happening to other women.
reporting it is fine, but i think she was bugging the cops when she started complaining that they didn't take it seriously enough. you furthered it by equating this petty crime to a sexual assault (with lovely... passion). i urged nothing more than perspective. you can call it subjectively traumatic, but i think most people realize what real trauma is. it's a relatively minor crime.
but hey, way to justify personal attacks in a debate. it takes real compassion and understanding to wish something so traumatic on another person.
Hijiki is a dude.
oh please hijiki. Go talk to yourself in the mirror or something. You don't hear anything anyone else says.
"I think that someone would only wish public humilitaion on you because you so recklessly dismiss the public humiliation of someone else and maybe if you knew how it felt you wouldn't be so insensitive. On the other hand I think that you have already publicly humiliated yourself on this forum today and you did it all by yourself. You have succeeded in shouting down a woman who had the courage to stand up for herself after what was, TO HER(get it,her not you!) a violating experience. According to you, she was "bugging the cops" and it was "not a big deal". I think you are offering a pretty big bone to pick when you ridicule and deride and shame woman for going to the police after experiencing what TO HER (read what she wrote about it, she says it herself) was a violating experience that she wanted to try to prevent from happening to other women."
Amen.
ok, who's not listening? you're blowing this into something it's not and spouting off your 'motherfuckin' issues. i've read every word but yet i'm accused of telling you to 'man it up', told who i am, where i should be living, to fuck off, that i'm stupid, i'm a dimwit, i know nothing about any of this, that i can't understand the feeling of being humiliated, how protected my life has been, that i shouted down a courageous woman, what sex am i... blah blah blah. the fact is you don't know me but instead of taking on my opinion of this petty jerk-off's crime, you're focusing on me. what exactly should i be 'hearing' from you.
look, i never defended the guy's actions, it's just not in the same realm as an assault and i would be disappointed if our police took the resources to treat it that way.
think twice, from that, all i can conclude is that:
a) the trauma is superficial so you feel it's not morally demented to wish it on others. would you wish permanent brain damage on me as well?
b) that the trauma is much worse than i thought and you are truly evil people to wish such awful pain on others.
you know that karma is listening to you too while you wish more harm on people.
peeing on the street is a crime. jaywalking is a crime. should the authorities be alerted? BRIDGET PLEASE SEEK THERAPY!!! You really need help. I'm not saying this to be mean. You need counseling.
Yeah, I need therapy because I know that it is not okay to shout down a woman for reporting this man , and for wanting her complaints to be taken seriously. I don't want any therapy that would make me like you.
Hey Bridget, Just cause you had your father's penis in your mouth doesn't give you carte blanche to go ballistic on every minor sex crime that ever happened.
I can go ballistic any time I want and nobody can stop me. Where is the law that says I can't go ballistic??? You're allowed to be an asshole aren't you? Who in the hell are you anyway leaving a fucked up comment like that and not even leaving your real name, at least I'm not a coward To whoever is in charge of these boards please take that assholes' comment off he's writing things about my father that he has no business writing and if I had known what motherfuckers on this board will sink to I would not have written at all. Please take off my comments too because I think I made a mistake and went too far writing to this board and I don't . Thank you for your time.
Please take the comment about my father off and mine too. Please do not delay in doing that sorry for the traouble thank you.