Bethlehem police on Monday, Dec. 5, arrested a man they say grabbed the buttocks of one woman and masturbated in front of another.
Patrick M. Bates, 23, of Pond Hill Road in Rensselaerville, was charged with the misdemeanors of forcible touching and public lewdness, and the violation of harassment in the second degree.
Police said on Nov. 20, Bates approached a female walking on Harrison Avenue in Delmar and grabbed her buttocks at about 6:44 a.m. Police reports indicate the woman said the man was driving a vehicle and reached out of the window as he passed.
Bates is also accused of masturbating in front of another woman sitting in her vehicle in the Delaware Plaza in Delmar at about 8:08 a.m. on Nov. 30.
Bates was arraigned in Bethlehem Town Court and remanded to the Albany County jail in lieu of $2,500 bail. He was scheduled to reappear in court on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Anyone with additional information about Bates or who was approached by him is being asked to contact Bethlehem police at 439-9973.
