PARK SLOPE — Police arrested a man on Thursday suspected of being the serial groper known as the “Park Slope Prowler.” The arrest follows a rash of incidents that terrorized women near Prospect Park all summer. 

William Nuesi, 23, a resident of a Sterling Place condo several blocks from the park, was arrested at noon Thursday and charged with four counts each of forcible touching and harassment for incidents that escalated throughout August, as first reported by the Brooklyn Eagle.

At least four women reported he crept up behind them and grabbed their buttocks and private areas in an increasingly  aggressive manner. Councilmember Shahana Hanif (D-Park Slope, Gowanus, Cobble Hill) asked the 78th Precinct to temporarily assign more patrols to the area, and police released several surveillance photos and videos allegedly showing Nuesi on the streets in the vicinity of the reported attacks.

Reddit member reached out to Brooklyn Eagle

Hundreds of comments about the attacks had been posted on Reddit’s r/parkslope page. One victim wrote, “Women, please be careful in this area after dark. This incident felt violent, and I believe his crimes will escalate.”

A Reddit user reached out to the Eagle via the paper’s Tips email, asking for coverage.

“I wanted to report a trend I’m seeing online in regards to sexual assaults in Park Slope,” the Redditor wrote. “Women are being groped and attacked in the streets, and it seemingly by the same person.”

After the Eagle broke the story, the case received widespread attention, and other news outlets subsequently piled on — the story was being read by acquaintances as far away as Florida, a Redditor wrote.

Following word of his arrest, commenters again checked in to Reddit.

“Good job, NYPD,” one wrote.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” another said.

A series of viewpoints, typical of Reddit, were offered. “Back in the day, the old Park Slope would’ve handled this,” went one.

Others were more cynical, expressing the opinion that the suspect would never see jail time.

“I bet he’s out already,” one wrote.

Reported incidents

• On Friday, Aug. 9, a 39-year-old woman was walking near the intersection of Eighth Street and Eighth Avenue at 11:45 p.m. when an unidentified man approached her from behind and touched her buttocks before fleeing.  
• On Saturday, Aug. 10, at about 11:45 p.m., a 39-year-old woman was in front of 495 Eighth St., about a block from the park, when an unknown man grabbed her buttocks and then fled westbound on Eighth Street. 
• On Tuesday, Aug. 13, at roughly 10:06 p.m., a 32-year-old woman was opposite 608 Fifth St., just across the street from the park, when a man forcibly touched her buttocks before running away.
• On Wednesday, Aug. 14, just before 1 a.m., a 34-year-old woman was walking her dog in the vicinity of Prospect Park West and First Street when an unknown man came from behind and forcibly touched her groin and buttocks, then fled.