MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A man charged in connection with a string of recent groping incidents in Brooklyn was brought before a Manhattan judge Friday to face charges he molested a woman in Chinatown four years ago.
In addition to allegedly groping an 18-year-old woman in Gowanus on Oct. 10, Adolfo Martinez, 26, was charged with grabbing a woman at Chrystie and Grand Streets on Oct. 4, 2007.
Martinez, who worked at a nearby fish market at the time, failed to appear in court on the forcible touching charge and a warrant was issued for his arrest on the Manhattan case.
But after his arrest in Brooklyn earlier this week, authorities realized the suspect had the warrant and contacted the alleged victim in the Chinatown case, prosecutors said Friday.
"It does appear to be a viable and strong case," Assistant District Attorney Caroline Rubens said.
Martinez' attorney, Peter Mitchell, said he could not provide a reason why Martinez, who allegedly admitted to several other groping incidents, never returned to court.
Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Felicia Mennin set bail at $2,500, but the suspect cannot be released because he was ordered held without bail by a Brooklyn judge. In that case he faces sex abuse and forcible touching charges.
"I have a problem. I get these little urges," Martinez allegedly told police in Spanish, according to a DNAinfo report on Wednesday.
Martinez is due back in Manhattan Criminal Court on Oct. 31.
