{"id":202884,"date":"2022-02-26T15:22:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T23:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=202884"},"modified":"2022-02-26T16:39:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T00:39:08","slug":"palazzo-las-vegas-alleged-groper-charged-with-lewdness-jail-sentence-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/palazzo-las-vegas-alleged-groper-charged-with-lewdness-jail-sentence-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Palazzo Las Vegas Alleged Groper Charged with Lewdness, Jail Sentence Possible"},"content":{"rendered":"

The man who allegedly groped a woman at the Palazzo Las Vegas in The Venetian Resort<\/a> was arrested this week, according to local news reports. He was identified by Metro police as Alberto Baez-Mesinas, 39, and reportedly was charged with open and gross lewdness.<\/p>\n

\"Alberto
Alberto Baez-Mesinas in a mug shot, pictured above. He was charged with open and gross lewdness after he allegedly groped a woman at a Las Vegas casino. (Image: LVMPD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as a year in jail, reported KLAS<\/em>, a local TV station. Baez-Mesinas could also face a $2,000 fine.<\/p>\n

KLAS<\/em> further reported that hotel security officers said Baez-Mesinas was an employee. Casino.org<\/em> could not immediately confirm that he worked at the gaming property.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The incident took place on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 13). The victim, Ariel Lyndsey<\/a>, immediately confronted him and slapped him in the face. She cursed at him and asked him for an apology.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, he was charged with the lewdness count. He appeared in local court on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n

Baez-Mesinas later posted bail. A condition of the bail is that he refrains from wrongdoing. He also cannot visit the Palazzo, reported KSNV<\/em>, another local TV station.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Baez-Mesinas told police he put his hand up Lyndsey\u2019s skirt as she walked by, the report said. He also groped her buttocks, KLAS<\/em> said, based on a police report.<\/p>\n

He \u201cdoes not know what got the best of him,\u201d Baez-Mesinas further told cops, KLAS<\/em> adds.<\/em><\/p>\n

Viral TikTok Video<\/h2>\n

Baez-Mesinas was pictured in a video<\/a><\/em> shot by Shannon Baker, who was identified by Inside Edition<\/em> as a friend of the victim. The video shows events after the groping and has since gone viral.<\/p>\n

\n

It had some 14.3 million views on TikTok as of Saturday. It had some 2 million likes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Initially, he smirked after being slapped. Then he went into a casino restroom, where he allegedly told other men the victim was \u201ccrazy.\u201d When he left the restroom, he was once again confronted by Lyndsey and her female friends. He then ran from the casino area. A casino employee was unable to stop him.<\/p>\n

But hotel security later apprehended him. He was identified and interviewed. Eventually, Metro cops were notified.<\/p>\n

Baez-Mesinas did not realize he had done something wrong until he was confronted by Lyndsey, the arrest report revealed, KSNV<\/em> said. That disturbed Lyndsey.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m gonna be honest, that’s terrifying,”<\/strong> Lyndsey was quoted by the TV station. “Because that just speaks so loudly for how normalized behavior like that is. And how consent is not even a thing, which is so wrong on so many levels.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The women chose to post the video on TikTok to spread awareness of the criminal issue. They also wanted the alleged assailant\u2019s identity and face to be known in case he did not get caught, Lyndsey said. She acknowledged in a later video she was \u201cloud and aggressive\u201d in her response. But that was needed to get action, she adds.<\/p>\n

\"Baez-Mesinas,
Ariel Lyndsey, left, confronts Alberto Baez-Mesinas, far right, after he allegedly groped her at the Palazzo Las Vegas. A video of the incident has gone viral. (Image: TikTok via Inside Edition<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some TikTok posters tried to blame the victim for the attack. She was wearing a shorter, snug black skirt, and her cleavage was showing that evening. But Lyndsey and her friends offered a stern warning for those making such statements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how you\u2019re dressed. You don\u2019t get to grab a woman,\u201d one of Lyndsey’s friends said in the video.<\/p>\n

Lyndsey, who was shaken and crying, was comforted by her friends soon after the attack. The women were in Las Vegas in connection with a work-related trip associated with the Magic fashion trade show. They were heading for dinner when the attack took place.<\/p>\n

\n

Casino.org<\/em> reached to a casino spokesperson Friday for comment about the arrest. There was no immediate statement. Earlier, a casino spokesperson said the man involved in the incident cannot return to the property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Also, the casino\u2019s \u201cSecurity Team took action to identify the suspect and are working with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on their investigation,\u201d the earlier statement adds. \u201cWe take allegations of assault very seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy for this behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groping Gets National Attention<\/h2>\n

In recent days, various media outlets have covered the story. On Friday, in response, Lyndsey tweeted:<\/p>\n

\n

“What\u2019s crazy is how a woman standing up for herself when being groped in public by a man is making headlines. This is so, so sad, those are BASIC boundaries. It shouldn\u2019t be breaking the internet, but bc it\u2019s so normalized, it\u2019s a big deal. Wtf.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man who allegedly groped a woman at the Palazzo Las Vegas in The Venetian Resort was arrested this week, according to local news reports. He was identified by Metro police as Alberto Baez-Mesinas, 39, and reportedly was charged with open and gross lewdness. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":202897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPalazzo Las Vegas Alleged Groper Charged with Lewdness, Jail Possible<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The man who allegedly groped a woman at the Palazzo Las Vegas was arrested. 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