'Bad Santa' wanted for subway gropes

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - Police in New York City are looking for a man who wore a Santa hat as he groped women in the subway system.

The incidents happened last month inside the 23rd Street station in Manhattan.  Police say that between 7-7:30 p.m. the man approached a 32-year-old woman on the platform and grabbed her buttocks.  The woman left the subway station.  Police say the man then walked up to a 34-year-old woman on the stairs that lead to the street and grabbed her buttocks.  That woman left the subway right after the incident.

The "bad Santa" then left the subway system and started walking west on West 22nd Street.

The New York City Police Department says the two women reported the incidents separately at later times.

The NYPD is asking for the public's assistance in locating the unidentified man.  Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).  Police say that all calls are strictly confidential.