New Jersey

Man Arrested After Pleasuring Himself During Screening of ‘Emoji' Movie: NJ Police

A New Jersey man accused of performing a lewd act during a screening of the children's "Emoji Movie" has turned himself in to police.

Abraham Parnes, 43, surrendered to the Howell Police Department on Thursday after an anonymous tip led police to his identification. He was charged with lewdness and was released on a summons.

Police said a woman spotted the suspect with his hands down his pants, which he unbuttoned and unzippered, as she was watching “The Emoji Movie” with her children at the Xscape movie theater in Howell last Friday. The woman reported the incident to the theater’s management, according to police.

The man was escorted out of the building by management and the woman called police when she got home, officials said.

Police released a photo of the suspect taken from surveillance video and asked for help from the public to identify him. 

It wasn’t immediately known if Parnes had an attorney who could comment on the case.

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