The Bobster
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Man accused of groping teen girl and punching her father in Times Square arraigned
A man accused of groping a 13-year-old in Time Square in early August has turned himself over to police.
nypost.com
Man accused of groping teen girl and punching her father in Times Square arraigned
By
Georgett Roberts,
Matthew Sedacca and
Jesse O’Neill
September 4, 2022 5:23am
Updated
A career criminal allegedly groped a teenage girl in Times Square – then clocked her dad in the face, prosecutors claimed.
Gregory Wyche, 57, was arraigned for a series of crimes in Manhattan Saturday — including the alleged sex abuse of a 13-year-old girl — after he turned himself in at his family’s insistence.
Wyche was brought up on multiple assault and sexual abuse charges as well as harassment and endangering the welfare of a minor in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Wyche allegedly grabbed the girl’s rear end in Times Square on Aug. 7 and then punched her father, prosecutors said.
He’s also accused of beating up a man and stealing his car on 34th Street in Murray Hill in May and stealing someone’s credit and debit public benefit cards, which officials said he used to steal more than a $1,000 worth of goods, including a fraudulent charge at an Inwood liquor store on Aug. 14.
The groping happened on West 43rd Street near 7th Avenue.dpa/picture alliance via Getty IPublic defender Joseph Payne told the court that Wyche was actually the owner of the car in the Murray Hill incident. He also claimed the girl’s father started a fight with Wyche in Times Square and denied that he never groped the teen.
Payne said Wyche turned himself into detectives after seeing security footage of himself on television. That claim was corroborated by prosecutors.
Judge Abraham Clott granted the prosecution’s request of $30,000 bail as Wyche tried to talk over him. The suspect, who was wearing khaki pants, a black tee, white sneakers and had his graying hair pulled into a ponytail, was handcuffed behind his back and taken to jail ahead of a Sept. 6 court date.
Prosecutors said Wyche has eight prior felony convictions — including two violent felonies — and 19 misdemeanor convictions. He had previously failed to appear in court 12 times, they said.