Franklin Portillo-Hernandez, of Farmingville, accused of lewd acts in public, forcible touching, police say

Suffolk County authorities arrested a 26-year-old Farmingville man who allegedly committed lewd acts in public and forcibly touched a woman earlier this year.

Franklin Portillo-Hernandez was charged with one count of forcible touching and two counts of public lewdness, according to a Suffolk County police news release. He was scheduled to be arraigned Sunday, police said.

Suffolk police on Saturday responded to Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge to a report of a man engaging in a lewd act in a 2003 black Honda CR-V while attempting to talk to a 39-year-old woman. The incident allegedly took place in a parking lot around 3 p.m. before the suspect fled the scene, authorities said.

Police later arrested Portillo-Hernandez at his home; detectives allege he also committed two previous crimes, police said.

Police said Portillo-Hernandez committed a lewd act in his car outside a residence in plain sight on Helen Marie Place in Hauppauge on Aug. 7 at around noon. Nearly three months earlier, on May 12, at around 8:15 p.m., he inappropriately touched a woman on Veterans Memorial Highway, a Hauppauge Walmart location, authorities said.

Portillo-Hernandez pleaded not guilty at his arraignment before District Court Judge Eric Sachs in Central Islip on Sunday. He was released without bail and is due back in court Aug. 20.

His court-appointed attorney, Del Atwell, of East Hampton, did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment. 

Suffolk police ask anyone with information on the incidents to contact Fourth Squad detectives at 631-854-8452.

Newsday's Grant Parpan contributed to this story.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ