Police reported that a man with a history of lewd behavior was arrested on Tuesday after making inappropriate advances toward a woman in a subway station.
According to the NYPD, 37-year-old Dexter Betancourt approached a 30-year-old woman while waiting for a train at the 14th Avenue and 6th Avenue station in Manhattan around 1 a.m. on June 18.
When the woman ignored his attempts to engage her in conversation, he apparently leaned over and tried to get around her legs, officers stated. He then exposed himself before escaping on a northbound L train.
Surveillance footage captured him licking his lips at the station, which added to the evidence against him.
He faced charges for indecent exposure on Tuesday, but this incident wasn’t his first offense, according to sources.
Betancourt has a troubling history with ten prior arrests for various offenses, including assault, strangulation, and aggressive behavior towards women.
In a 2013 incident, he reportedly attacked a 27-year-old, throwing her onto the ground and suffocating her while also biting her face on the Upper East Side.
Additionally, sources revealed that when officers attempted to arrest him, he resisted, hitting them and attempting to spit.
A year ago, he grabbed a 25-year-old woman and threw her down, which shows a clear pattern in his behavior. His previous victims have all been unfamiliar faces.
Betancourt has also assaulted a female police officer, punching her in the face and trying to pull her by her neck.
Details about how law enforcement eventually apprehended Betancourt on Tuesday remain unclear. He was awaiting arraignment at Brooklyn Crown Court, where the NYPD Special Victim Transportation Force is situated.
