Gian Verdelli: Brooklyn Sex Offender Arrested For The 169th Time
Gian Verdelli just can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. The Brooklyn sex offender was arrested Monday for the 169th time after allegedly grinding two women on a train several times over the course of two months.
Police said the Brooklyn man had run-ins with one of the victims, a 28-year-old from Jersey City, while riding a train, the Village Voice reported. A second woman also accused him of unwelcome groping in the Trans-Hudson rapid transit train, leading police to set up a sting operation to catch the sex offender in action.
Using a cell phone photo one of the victim snapped of Gian Verdelli following a July 3 attack, plainclothes officers tracked down the man and brought him into custody. Verdelli was found wearing the same clothes he had on in the cell phone picture and was carrying marijuana when police arrested him, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
He was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact and sent to the Hudson County Correctional Center in lieu of $20,000 bail, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. If convicted Verdelli faces up to 18 months in prison on each charge.
The 61-year-old Brooklyn sex offender has a rap sheet dating back to the 1970s, the New York Daily News reported. He was placed on a sex offender list after another groping incident on the New York City subway, resulting in a conviction of a forcible touching charge.
Most of Gian Verdelli’s 169 arrests were for minor offenses including trespassing and drug charges. His rap sheet includes several misdemeanors picked up in New York and disorderly person citations in New Jersey, offenses that typically don’t come with any jail time, the Star-Ledger reported.
“In New Jersey you cannot get an extended term on a disorderly persons conviction,” DeFazio told the Star-Ledger. “And in New York it’s the same, you cannot get an extended term on a misdemeanor conviction.”
In September Gian Verdelli pleaded guilty to jumping a subway turnstile and served 10 days in jail. Prosecutors said they hope he stays longer after newest subway groping incidents.
“We’ll make an effort to make sure he’s isolated from society for a longer period for time,” DeFazio said of Gian Verdelli’s most recent charges.
