Yesterday, police arrested and charged a suspect who they believe is the "well-dressed groper" who has attacked at least four women in Manhattan this year. 26-year-old Park Slope resident Karl Vanderwoude has been charged with forcible touching, unlawful surveillance and sexual abuse in three of the gropings. Neighbors told DNAInfo they were shocked that the man who hosted Bible study groups in his apartment could have been the perp: "We had some meetings for Bible study," said Javier Maldonado. And CBS reports that Vanderwoude apparently volunteered at a women’s crisis center counseling victims of domestic disputes.
Vanderwoude has been accused of groping women in Greenwich Village, lower Manhattan and the Upper East Side—the most recent attack occurred on March 30, when he allegedly approached a 22-year-old woman on Chambers Street around 7:20 p.m. and put his hand between her legs as she was exiting the subway station. Police are still investigating whether Vanderwoude is connected to one other groping that occurred in February.
His lawyer confirmed that her client holds weekly Bible meetings at his apartment: "My client is a 26-year-old gentleman...His job wants him back," said Lori Cohen. She added that she thinks the pictures of the suspect don't look like her client: "I've seen all the photos on-line and they do not look anything like this gentleman," she told reporters. "They could be pictures of any well dressed gentleman in his 20's or 30s." Vanderwoude's landlady agreed: "He's such a wonderful, responsible and respectful person," said Carmen Olmedo. "He's very professional. He's always in his suits. He's very straight-laced."
Vanderwoude was a former public relations coordinator at Saks Fifth Avenue and sales coordinator at the swank 60 Thompson hotel; currently he works for Madison Avenue private equity firm MVision. Among the other things we know about Vanderwoude: according to his Twitter, he likes Cîroc and Blue Ribbon fried chicken. He attended Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, and he very likely may be this guy who is "so freaking HOT!!!!!"
