Slamming the door
NY pols bid to fix law that protects concierge creep
New York’s cyber creeps won’t be getting off much longer.
Legislators are working to fix the state’s archaic harassment laws after The Post revealed that a Midtown doorman who allegedly terrorized women in his building with sexts of his penis might go unpunished.
And the NYPD has also reopened its investigation into alleged perv building worker Jonathon Aviles at The Post’s prodding — revealing Thursday that it was interviewing another two victims just a day after saying it had closed the case.
At least six women say they received the lewd messages from unknown num- bers in June and July. Aviles was fired from the building last week when they were able to match him to tattoos from the photos.
But cops said Wednesday they couldn’t go after Aviles because spamming women with images of your private parts isn’t a crime.
When state politicians read about that, they set about rewriting the laws post haste.
“I am working with Sen. [Liz] Krueger (D-Manhattan) to draft legislation which would hold individuals who engage in this kind of disturbing behavior to account,” Assemblyman Edward Braunstein (D-Queens) said Thursday.
Legal experts say an easy fix would be to amend the state’s aggravated harassment law, which is so old it only covers harassment via “telephone calls.”
“[It] is written for conduct that occurred in 1955. It clearly needs to be updated because what’s the difference between a telephone call or a text message if it’s harassing?” said Manhattan prosecutor-turned-defenselawyer Mark Bederow.
Bederow, however, thinks the cops may be able to arrest Aviles right now over his conduct with at least one of the women, because he kept sending sexts after she told him to stop — and that’s stalking.
When asked why it wasn’t pursuing that angle, the NYPD said the case isn’t closed after all.
“No one should be subjected to this repugnant behavior. The NYPD has recently received an addi- tional two complaints and is actively investigating them, and the Department is also currently working with local prosecutors,” said Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Phillip Walzac.
But one victim said cops made her feel like she did something wrong when they called Thursday.
“They . . . asked if I had a personal relationship with him, if I’d seen his penis in person. It left a taste of: they’re accusing me of leading him on,” she said.