An actual take-no-prisoners peeping Tom! Any ground for alarm?

Guybrush

Dittohead
Rumour had it our neighbourhood had one on its hands last fall. It was all hearsay, though. A friend of a friend of a friend ...

Turns out the grapevine was right!

See, a couple of days ago, my next-door neighbours – two darling co-eds! – were just about to go to bed when they made a grisly discovery: a peculiar man was standing right outside their windowpane, peeping like there was no tomorrow! Harmless enough, you say. Perhaps, but there’s more! The moment he was spotted, the man hastily disappeared. For good, or so the girls thought.

Two days later, however, the girls’ doorbell rang, and whaddyaknow: it was their old pal again! Recognizing him through the peep hole, they refused to open the door, but he just stood there insouciantly, ringing the doorbell for minutes on end before finally giving up and leaving.

The police, which they called the moment he left, just laughed it all off, and it is, of course, perfectly conceivable that he wished them no harm – we all know of well-meaning gestures gone awry – but there does seem to be something iffy about him. For one thing, what on earth business did he have clumping about in their backyard?

Does any Dissensian have any experience dealing with peeping Toms? Is there any risk of their “raising the ante,” serial-killer style, or is it just an innocuous kink? (Obviously, the late-night visit complicates the picture ...) Also, any tips on how to scare them off without ticking them off would be much appreciated!
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
Rumour had it our neighbourhood had one on its hands last fall. It was all hearsay, though. A friend of a friend of a friend ...

Turns out the grapevine was right!

See, a couple of days ago, my next-door neighbours – two darling co-eds! – were just about to go to bed when they made a grisly discovery: a peculiar man was standing right outside their windowpane, peeping like there was no tomorrow! Harmless enough, you say. Perhaps, but there’s more! The moment he was spotted, the man hastily disappeared. For good, or so the girls thought.

Two days later, however, the girls’ doorbell rang, and whaddyaknow: it was their old pal again! Recognizing him through the peep hole, they refused to open the door, but he just stood there insouciantly, ringing the doorbell for minutes on end before finally giving up and leaving.

The police, which they called the moment he left, just laughed it all off, and it is, of course, perfectly conceivable that he wished them no harm – we all know of well-meaning gestures gone awry – but there does seem to be something iffy about him. For one thing, what on earth business did he have clumping about in their backyard?

Does any Dissensian have any experience dealing with peeping Toms? Is there any risk of their “raising the ante,” serial-killer style, or is it just an innocuous kink? (Obviously, the late-night visit complicates the picture ...) Also, any tips on how to scare them off without ticking them off would be much appreciated!

People who flagrantly disregard boundaries--especially the legal or personal boundaries set up around young females--for their own sexual gratification, are most likely sexual predators. Peeping toms are registered sex offenders here, I'm pretty sure, as they should be.

I'd try to get a restraining order issued, if I were them...
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Pffft, Swedish co-eds...they weren't having a mildly Sapphic pillow-fight in their underwear at the time, were they?

Ahem. Obviously it could dangerous to just hope he'll go away, you don't know how harmless he's going to stay, do you?
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
You could also try getting your landlord to pay for surveillance cameras, a lot of buildings in my neighborhood have them. It's best if they're behind a window or door or where it would be hard to break them.
 

Guybrush

Dittohead
Thanks for the advice.

A restraining order would be nice, but since they don’t know who he is, it may prove a bit difficult getting one. Getting permission for setting up a surveillance camera is similarly troublesome, a permission for which being much harder to obtain than in a country like the U.K. But WHATEVER.

I guess I find the whole thing fascinating in that the man quite clearly is a potential threat, but before he detonates, as it were, there is very little you can do. Good thing we’ll always have our kitchen utensils ...
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
Maybe he just wanted to be their friend?

Nah, it's a progressive illness. Lots of people start out with the casual sexual assault or peep and end up in the rape/murder category.

It's possible that he's just a wandering untreated schizophrenic, but usually they couldn't care less about staring at random women.

Guybrush, do they have stalking laws in your country?

It's best to at least file a formal complaint, this way if it continues to happen or escalates, law enforcement has a frame of reference, and can't as easily revert to the old victim blame (you should've had your blinds shut and bars on your windows) trick in an attempt to make themselves look more competent and less useless in court.

Edit: to file a complaint, and possibly even a restraining order, all you need is a physical description.
 
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swears

preppy-kei
I was just kidding about the "friend" thing. This man does sound like a pretty creepy character, I wonder what he would have said to them if they'd opened the door?

Maybe there is some innocent explaination, though. Like he thinks somebody lives in their house that's moved away or something, who knows? Although staring through the back window at them isn't exactly the best way to going about finding this out.
 

Guybrush

Dittohead
To paraphrase “the Messiah”: assessing his mental status is above my pay-grade. ;) I think we do have stalking laws – well, I know we do – but you mostly get to hear about them when some disgruntled wifebeater takes “poetic licence” on his ex’s body, mostly by way of slaying her ... :( Generally speaking, Swedish law is incredibly lax, and when it comes to non-physical violations, its toothlessness is painfully evident. Still, he hasn’t made a comeback yet, so I for one am optimistic. :)

On a different note, didn’t Peter Sutcliffe have a thing for peeping ... back in his non-serial killer days? You know, back when he sufficed with frequenting prostitutes? My memory is all hazy.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
the knocking at the door is quite unusual, no? don't most creeps prefer to stick to the shadows? from what i understand that's a move most of them would never make.

i'm not sure how exactly the psychology works in something like this, but seem to remember some stuff about how it is the fantasy inside the head of the predator which gets him going, and that if you confront him it destroys the fantasy and will leave you alone... or is that completely unrelated bullshit?
 

swears

preppy-kei
My nan used to live by a low-security "rehabilitation centre" which wasn't for drug addicts, but rather for people with alzheimer's/dementia and various other conditions that affect the elderly. You'd get people wandering out all the time knocking on doors and staring through windows, wondering where the fuck they were, might be something like that, I suppose.
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
the knocking at the door is quite unusual, no? don't most creeps prefer to stick to the shadows? from what i understand that's a move most of them would never make.

i'm not sure how exactly the psychology works in something like this, but seem to remember some stuff about how it is the fantasy inside the head of the predator which gets him going, and that if you confront him it destroys the fantasy and will leave you alone... or is that completely unrelated bullshit?

This won't work if he's an erotomaniac/stalker, any face-to-face interaction is just going to feed the flames.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
If he ain't gonna pay them, then lock him the fuck up. Nothing more dangerous than a punter that thinks he can get it for free.
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
If he ain't gonna pay them, then lock him the fuck up. Nothing more dangerous than a punter that thinks he can get it for free.

Maybe they could put a little change slot on their window frame, like they used to have at the 43 cent peep shows on Times Square.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Maybe they could put a little change slot on their window frame, like they used to have at the 43 cent peep shows on Times Square.

Know what I mean? Pull that shutter down if the motherfucker don't cough up. What they thinkin giving it out for free anyway? Jesus. Home fucking is killing prostitution.
 
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