By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — In a landmark federal court case, two men have been convicted of blocking the entrance to a Greenwich Village clinic that performs abortions.
The two men, Richard Dugan and Theodore Puckett, were found guilty on Monday of a single count of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act, which makes it a felony to obstruct abortion facilities.
The case marks the first time that the act has been invoked in New York.
The verdict was handed down by a US federal Court judge, Robert W. Sweet. The defendants were convicted of obstructing the entry way to Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Center, at the corner of Bleecker and Mott streets, last December 12, according to court documents.
Sentencing is scheduled for June in federal court in Manhattan. The two men each face six-month prison sentences and $10,000 in fines. Neither is a New York resident; Puckett is from Tennessee and Dugan from Louisiana. They apparently acted independently of any anti-abortion group.
"The court has sent an important message that the women, men and teens of New York City shall not be impeded in accessing reproductive health care,” Planned Parenthood NYC president Joan Malin in a statement. “Blockading entrances to health care clinics will not be tolerated."
