A 20-year-old Ronkonkoma man previously released without bail on public lewdness charges is now accused of masturbating in front of two more women in separate incidents in Centereach and Commack, bringing the total number of alleged victims to four, Suffolk County prosecutors said.
Nicholas Critelli was arrested Oct. 16 and arraigned the following day on two new counts of public lewdness, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.
The new charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred while Critelli was free on his own recognizance following a July arraignment on similar charges involving two women in Sayville.
According to prosecutors, Critelli was sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart in Centereach at approximately 9:40 p.m. Oct. 1 when he allegedly masturbated in full view of a woman walking past his vehicle. The woman reported the incident to police.
On Oct. 14, at approximately 9:27 p.m., Critelli was allegedly parked in a Target parking lot in Commack when he called out to a woman, complimented her appearance and asked whether she lived nearby while masturbating. That woman also contacted police.
Investigators connected the incidents to two earlier allegations in Sayville.
On June 4, Critelli allegedly masturbated in front of a woman in a Target parking lot in Sayville at approximately 9:53 p.m.
Two days later, at approximately 4:30 p.m., he was allegedly sitting in his vehicle in a Sayville residential neighborhood when he called out to a woman walking nearby, asked for her Snapchat information and masturbated in front of her.
Critelli was arrested June 16 and issued a desk appearance ticket. He was arraigned July 6 on two counts of public lewdness, both class B misdemeanors, and released on his own recognizance.
Prosecutors said the charges are not eligible for bail under current New York law, preventing them from requesting bail despite the repeated allegations.
“The defendant’s alleged behavior is abhorrent. And New York’s broken bail laws allow him to allegedly do this again and again and again,” Tierney said.
“Case after case shows the same pattern: My office is not allowed to ask for bail despite the seriousness of the alleged crimes and the documented repeated behavior,” he added.
At Critelli’s Oct. 17 arraignment, prosecutors stated that they would have requested bail if legally permitted, arguing that the allegations demonstrated a danger to the community and potential future victims.
District Court Judge Alonzo Jacobs placed Critelli on supervised release.
Critelli, who is represented by the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, is scheduled to return to court Nov. 4.
Investigators believe there may be additional victims. Anyone who believes they were victimized by Critelli is asked to contact the Suffolk County Police Department at 631-854-8452.
Critelli is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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