By JEFF LIPTION
The suspect, identified as Juan Bayron, Jr., was charged on April 14 with public lewdness for allegedly masturbating while working in an aisle at Waldbaum¹s, 3020 Long Beach Rd., according to 4th Precinct police. That charge stemmed from a Nov. 7 incident at 12:30 p.m., when a 41-year-old woman and longtime customer complained that Bayron was following her around the store and then ³put his hands down his pants and played with himself.²
The woman complained to the store¹s managers about Bayron, but his employers said their investigation showed he was an upstanding employee who did nothing wrong. The woman said she even tried to file a complaint with police, but was told that since he never exposed himself to her, he could not be charged with a crime.
She said that at the time she warned managers that the suspect may victimize another customer, and her cautionary words panned out. On Nov. 27, about three weeks after her incident, Bayron allegedly exposed his penis to a 12-year-old girl in the store and was arrested for public lewdness, officials said.
The woman said the Nassau County district attorney¹s office called her on Friday, April 13 and told her to file a complaint at the 4th Precinct, in an apparent attempt to build a stronger case against Bayron, according to law enforcement officials.
³It¹s about time,² the woman said of the additional public lewdness charges being filed against the suspect. ³I feel it should have been taken care of a long time ago.²
She said if the management at Waldbaum¹s had taken her complaint seriously and fired Bayron immediately, the girl then would not have been victimized by him. ³That incident against the girl would never have happened,² said the woman, a resident of Oceanside since 1991. ³I think the store should have taken me more seriously than they did.²
The woman said she was a regular shopper at Waldbaum¹s for 16 years before the incident, but now won¹t step foot in that store again.
The father of the 12-year-old girl said the family is still upset over the way it was handled by Waldbaum¹s. ³They handled it horribly,² he said. ³After the woman spoke to them about it, they still let him work there. My wife was there when it happened to my daughter and she¹s extremely upset. We now have issues with my daughter. She¹s only 12 years old. Waldbaum¹s was negligent.²
He said he¹s contemplating taking legal action against Waldbaum¹s, saying, ³We have some things going on.²
Authorities explained the delay in charging the suspect in the incident involving the 41-year-old woman, saying that the suspect didn¹t actually expose himself to her and what he does underneath his clothing may not necessarily mean he committed a crime. But after further investigation, authorities said they decided that he could be charged with public lewdness.
The woman said the suspect, whom the Herald discovered has been previously arrested and charged with first-degree robbery, may need psychiatric help and if he is convicted, she said, he should be registered as a sex offender.
³He¹s probably going to do it again and again,² she said.
After his April 14 arrest on the public lewdness charge, a B misdemeanor, Bayron was released on $250 bail, according to a spokeswoman for the Nassau County district attorney.
Charles Schiro, the district manager for Waldbaum¹s, maintained that the supermarket chain will not comment on the incidents.
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