Dozens of women in Des Peres, Missouri, have complained of being the victim of a serial hugger that the local press is calling "Jack the Gripper."
But how did the man con a hug from so many women? Here's how:
According to their reports, the alleged hugger typically approaches women while they are shopping by themselves, pretends to know them as a former neighbor, and then asks for a hug under the pretense that it is his birthday, Des Peres Detective Marshall Broughton said.
"He'd say, 'Hi, remember me? I lived down the street in the corner house. How ya been?'" Broughton said. "Obviously [the women] didn't remember him, but he did it so quickly and convincingly that they felt embarrassed that they didn't know him."
Des Peres police identified the man, who is 44, but did not arrest him because of uncertainty about whether his actions were criminal, Broughton said.
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So, what say you, Neatoramanauts? Is it a crime to trick a stranger into hugging you?
I agree they could try to prosecute him under the law, but I think that a conviction would be dicey at best.
Technically, Missouri calls this "assault in the third degree" but it's the same as what is usually called "battery." Missouri's law makes it a misdemeanor to "knowingly cause physical contact with another person knowing the other person will regard the contact as offensive or provocative." ("Provocative" here probably means provoking a fight.) Seems reasonable to expect that a man should "know" that women might find hugs from a strange guy "offensive."
Given that we're only talking about hugs, there may be uncertainty over whether to prosecute him, but if there's reason to think he's a creep and not just a harmless hugger, I think they could prosecute him under this law if necessary.
Oh please, you wouldn't do anything.
If a guy did that to me (not that I'd let it get to that point these days, but when I was much younger) I'd at least try to get him charged with assault. That is just not normal, nor at all acceptable.