New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov announced Friday that she filed a police report against the creep who kissed her without consent during a TV interview in Brooklyn last week.
The Republican lawmaker first revealed the update in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, where she said she learned of the man’s identity through an anonymous tip and claimed he has a lengthy history of assault and domestic violence offenses.
The disturbing incident unfolded last Wednesday in Brighton Beach when the stranger snuck up behind Vernikov and pecked her on the cheek as she was being interviewed on the street by CBS News.
“It was very creepy, I definitely felt violated,” she told The Post on Friday. “I was in complete shock as you can see from the video,” she recalled.
“I think if I saw him again, I might want to punch him in the face,” she said.
After obtaining the man’s name and address, Vernikov said she pointed him out in a police photo lineup.
Vernikov said he’s been charged with forcible touching — a misdemeanor. The NYPD confirmed a report was made, but said no arrests have been made.
“We looked into this individual and what we found was that this wasn’t just some isolated incident — this is a man with a very long rap sheet,” Vernikov posted on X.
“And that rap sheet includes arrests for punching someone in the face, seven domestic violence incidents, including choking the mother of his children several times, crack cocaine, chasing someone with a knife and other crimes,” she wrote.
The councilwoman told The Post that since the incident she’s “been thinking about something that I never had the opportunity to in a deeper way, which is sexual assault and harassment.”
“I know there are a lot of people who experience real traumatic sexual harassment, sexual assault,” she said.
Video of the incident shows Vernikov, a Republican who represents Brooklyn’s 48th district, preparing to answer a question from a reporter when a man in a cap came up behind her and pecked her on her right cheek.
“What the f—k?!” the stunned councilwoman yells as the man walked away, smirking.
After the disturbing act, Vernikov’s colleagues jumped to her defense. She even received phone calls from the governor’s and mayor’s offices.
“I really appreciated the outpouring of support, especially from the other side of the aisle,” she said.
