In April of last year, the NYPD was looking for a neatly dressed man who had groped numerous women in Manhattan, grabbing their buttocks or genitals. After one mistaken identity arrest, the police finally arrested lawyer Paul Kraft, 31, in December. Now it turns out that Kraft has pleaded guilty, but won't have to serve any time in jail.
According to the Post, "Prosecutors had cited Kraft's lack of criminal history and that he had taken responsibility for his actions in agreeing to the plea deal and dismissing the top count of unlawful surveillance -- for his allegedly putting his cell phone under the skirt of the women who'd been walking on Centre Street." Instead, by pleading guilty to the five misdemeanors, he'll just serve probation and need to take part in weekly program for a " a sexual impulse therapy program" over 18 months.
Friends of Kraft noticed that he looked like the suspect in images and videos the police distributed and went to authorities after the first suspect was released. A woman who had dated a colleague of Kraft's fiancee told us, "Paul's girlfriend even teased him about looking like the guy in the photos, and he kind of freaked out. He got his eyebrows waxed and changed his hair color—his eyebrows were a lot thinner afterwards."
Video of "well-dressed" Manhattan groper from Gothamist on Vimeo.
She also said, "Initially he seemed like a really cool guy, because he would sit around and talk to the girls, but then you kind of realized that he didn't engage the guys in any conversation. His overall demeanor was just kind of creepy. He showed a kind of insecurity—my boyfriend and I would talk about it all the time because his fiancee was so sweet." Further, Kraft's fiancee had also apparently found violent pornography—"rape porn"—on his computer.
Kraft is a lawyer and the Post adds, "Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Kevin McGrath agreed to sign a certificate of release from civil disabilities, which may allow [Kraft] to ultimately keep his law license."
