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Another suspect accused of disrupting a WNBA game by throwing a green sex toy has been arrested. Charles Burgess, 32, was arrested by New York police on Wednesday after allegedly throwing a sex toy at a New York Liberty game, per multiple media outlets.
Police reportedly say that at the game, which took place on Aug. 5 in New York’s Barclays Center, Burgess smuggled in a green sex toy and threw the toy at the court. The toy did not make it to the court and instead hit a 12-year-old girl in the stands, per police.
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Burgess is reportedly facing a slew of criminal charges, including multiple counts of assault, interfering with a professional sporting event, reckless endangerment, harassment and obscenity, per The Athletic.
Burgess’s attorney, Paul D’Emilia, told The Athletic in an email the charges were “exaggerated,” and that his client turned himself in. Burgess drove to Brooklyn from Ohio, where he owns an auto shop and lives with his wife and six children, to cooperate with authorities.
D’Emilia told The Athletic that Burgess is a “casual fan” of the WNBA and denied that he was involved in prior incidents.
“Mr. Burgess intends to vigorously fight these embellished and exaggerated charges. There seems to be video evidence that no one was actually struck by the thrown object, rendering any of the included assault charges unsustainable,” D’Emilia said.
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D’Emilia said that prosecutors showed an interest in speaking with the defense to address others’ involvement in the flurry of sex toys that interrupted at least six different WNBA games from late July to early August.
A cryptocurrency group previously took credit for some of the incidents, saying that the sex toys were a form of guerrilla marketing. It is unclear if Burgess has any connection with this group.
Burgess is the third person to be arrested in connection with the sex toy incidents. Delbert Carver, 23, was arrested in Georgia after allegedly throwing a sex toy on the court during an Atlanta Dream game. A few days later, 18-year-old Kaden Lopez was arrested for doing the same at a Phoenix Mercury game. Lopez’s throw did not make it to the court, but instead hit a fan who was at the game with his nine-year-old niece.
