NEW YORK (AP) — A homeless man with a lengthy criminal record is accused of groping a 10-year-old girl at the Port Authority Bus Terminal near New York’s Times Square.
Port Authority Police say 44-year-old Willie Hanford grabbed the girl’s left buttock as she walked onto an escalator with her mother and sister around 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Police say the girl screamed, leading her mother to follow the man until officers cornered him in a drug store within the bustling terminal.
Police say Hanford groped the girl after stealing a purse on a nearby street corner.
He’s charged with sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
Police say he has 78 criminal convictions and three pending cases.
Information on his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.
