TIMES SQUARE — A man dressed as Cookie Monster who was arrested for allegedly groping a teenage tourist was cleared Tuesday after prosecutors realized police may have grabbed the wrong guy, according to a law enforcement source.
A man dressed as the Sesame Street character groped a 16-year-old girl in Times Square on Sunday, the NYPD said, but the authorities who arrested a man dressed as Cookie Monster the next day could not be sure it was the same costumed character.
According to police, the girl was walking with her tour group at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday in front of 1514 Broadway when the costumed culprit pulled the victim in, hugged her and grabbed her breasts, according to authorities.
Police arrested a 48-year-old New Jersey man on Monday on charges of forcible touching, acting in a manner injurious to a child and harassment, NYPD said. But the Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to prosecute, they said.
The 48-year-old costumed character was not arrested directly after the incident, a law enforcement source confirmed. He had left the victim's sight and police could not be certain they had the right man, the source said.
Business group The Times Square Alliance, which has tried to crack down on and regulate the characters in the past, said the attack was one of a series from "aggressive and predatory" costumed characters walking around Times Square, including a man in a Spider-Man costume who punched a police officer in the face in June.
“We’ve all worked too hard to create a reborn Times Square to see our work squandered," Community Board 5 president Vikki Barbaro said in a statement.
