Man arrested for throwing sex toy at WNBA game: Details

Man Arrested for Throwing Sex Toy at WNBA Game

A man from Ohio was arrested for throwing a sex toy during a WNBA game in New York, authorities reported on Thursday. This incident adds to a series of similar disturbances at women’s basketball league games, which have resulted in at least three arrests. Charles Burgess, 32, a resident of Dayton, Ohio, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of assault. He is accused of throwing an object during the game between the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty on August 5, hitting a 12-year-old girl. Burgess’s lawyer, Paul D’Emilia, reported that his client pleaded not guilty after traveling from Ohio and voluntarily surrendering to New York authorities. He was released pending his next court appearance, scheduled for December.

Burgess, owner of a body shop with six children and no criminal record, intends to “fight vigorously against these exaggerated charges”.

Paul D’Emilia

Court documents filed by prosecutors indicate that a surveillance video shows Burgess taking the sex toy out of his pants and throwing it towards the court. However, his lawyer argues that the video does not prove that the object hit anyone. These incidents are reminiscent of other disturbances that occurred during games in Atlanta on July 29 and August 1, in Los Angeles and Phoenix on August 5, and in Chicago on August 1 and 7. Some of these objects reached the court, causing game delays, while others fell into the crowd. In Phoenix, an 18-year-old man, Kaden Lopez, was arrested. Lopez told the police that it was a prank that was trending on social media and that he had bought the toy a day earlier to take it to the game. He was intercepted at the stadium by a volunteer who, apparently, saw him throw the object and followed him as he tried to leave. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office reported that it found no probable cause to file felony charges against Lopez, and his case was dismissed with the recommendation that the remaining minor charges be brought before the Phoenix city prosecutor. According to a police report, a man was also arrested in Georgia following the two interruptions at the Atlanta Dream games. Delbert Carver, 23, was charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing, public display of indecency, and indecent exposure. All four charges are misdemeanors in the state of Georgia. Carver told the police that “this was supposed to be a joke and that the joke would go viral”, according to the police report. The sex toy that landed on the court in Los Angeles nearly hit Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham. The league has declared that anyone who throws objects onto the field will be ejected from the stadium and will face a minimum one-year ban from attending matches.