Maryland ‘Peeping Tom’ law doesn’t apply in Towson case, judge says

Devin Kaestner and Chloe White sat inside a Baltimore County District courtroom, their backs to one of multiple men they say they caught peering through the window of their first-floor Towson apartment. They hoped for the best: a guilty verdict.

They got the worst, they said: Judge Krystin Richardson found Johnnie Wade Jr. not guilty on two Peeping Tom charges.

Under Maryland law, the judge said Monday, prosecutors failed to prove the 53-year-old actually saw Kaestner, White or their third roommate inside one of their bedrooms.

“I know the justice system won’t always be morally correct,” Kaestner said. “But it was still my apartment, whether I was in the room or not. It’s just terrifying to think about the what if’s and that the law doesn’t apply to it at all.”

Over the past 10 months, three young women reported that multiple men peered into and filmed inside their bedrooms in Towson’s Donnybrook Apartments. The incidents left the roommates feeling unsafe and prompted them to install Ring cameras in their bedrooms to document the men they reported to police at least 13 times.

In addition to Wade, Baltimore County police arrested 55-year-old Andrade Robinson and 56-year-old Daniel F. Sell in May on Peeping Tom misdemeanor charges.

State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said he doesn’t know whether Richardson’s decision will impact the outcome of Sell and Robinson’s cases, which are scheduled for trials on July 28 and Aug. 24.

“I have never felt that there had to be somebody in the room,” he said. “If you’re crawling up to the room, and you’re looking in, your intent is to see the person.”

Shellenberger added that his office will be reviewing its plans to prosecute the additional cases and will consider lobbying lawmakers to amend the law if necessary.

What is the statute?

Court records show that Wade, Robinson and Sell were all charged with Peeping Tom misdemeanors under a statute that describes the alleged crime as conducting “visual surveillance of an individual in a private place without the consent of that individual.”

Maryland law defines a “private place” as a “dressing room or restroom.” It categorizes “visual surveillance” as observations through direct eyesight, mirrors, cameras or electronic devices “that can be used surreptitiously to observe an individual.”

Court records show none of the three roommates were inside the bedroom Wade was accused of peering into.

Wade’s defense attorney, Kevin Carr, said he also argued that crime his client was charged with did not apply to him.

“That statute is specifically designed for dressing rooms and restrooms,” he said.

He noted that detectives could have charged Wade with another statute that includes bedrooms in a broader definition of a “private place,” but then prosecutors would have to prove that Wade had a “prurient,” or sexualized intent.

Kaestner said that Richardson apologized to her and White while delivering her verdict, but said she had to rely on the evidence.

“[Richardson] looked at us and said, ‘I see you and I hear you and I give my condolences for the situation,’” Kaestner said. “And the judge said, ‘I know you two felt unsafe in your own home, but I have to go with the facts of the situation, and he didn’t view an individual, so he’s not guilty.’”

Shellenberger said his office ensured that Kaestner and White testified and that Assistant State’s Attorney Sean Dougherty provided all the proper evidence.

“It was the interpretation of the law that caused the problem,” Shellenberger said.

Carr said even if the state’s attorneys office wanted to change the law there is a limit to what you can criminalize.

“I don’t think you could rewrite the law to criminalize someone for looking into a vacant room,” he said.

‘Don’t creep on girls’

Kaestner, a 25-year-old Towson University graduate, said she was disappointed by the law’s limitations and the irony of her situation.

The roommates are still living in the same Donnybrook Apartment complex on Knollwood Road, which is about a half mile off-campus. Both are testifying against Sell later this month.

They said they can’t afford to move elsewhere in Towson.

“This is a common occurrence, especially in Donnybrook,” Kaestner said. “I kept hearing from multiple people, cops and neighbors that this happens ... but I just hope that everyone learns from the situation.”

Her advice, she said, is to “keep windows shut and be aware of your surroundings. Be kind, don’t be stupid and don’t creep on girls.”