Second Towson ‘Peeping Tom’ case ends with deal ordering man to stay away from victims

Devin Kaestner and Chloe White were again prepared on Tuesday to testify against one of three “Peeping Toms” they caught on their Ring camera peering into White’s bedroom in Towson.

But it didn’t happen. Instead, Baltimore County Assistant State’s Attorney Tamia Glover offered Daniel Sell, charged with a “Peeping Tom” misdemeanor, a deal that indefinitely postpones his case for the next three years.

The 56-year-old accepted a stet docket deal, essentially shelving his case and waiving his right to a speedy trial after agreeing to stay away from the women.

Kaestner and White said Glover told them she was not sure the state had enough evidence to prove Sell was guilty.

“It’s almost like this was our best option,” said Kaestner, 25. “I had more hope for this one because my roommate Chloe was in the room when it happened, but I am happy that he is legally supposed to stay away from us.”

Earlier this month, Judge Krystin Richardson found 53-year-old Johnnie Wade Jr. — who was charged with two Peeping Tom misdemeanors for targeting Kaestner and White’s apartment — not guilty.

“That trial was so unnecessarily stressful and we sobbed afterwards,” said White, 22. “I just didn’t want to go through that emotional turmoil again and have to face the court and say like, ‘Yeah that’s the guy.’ All I’ve ever wanted is to just be left alone.”

The stet docket is a “middle ground” between a conviction and a not guilty finding, said Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger, whose office prosecuted the case.

The case can be reopened at White’s request during the three years it sits on the stet docket. It reopens automatically if Sell, who was originally charged with one misdemeanor and faced up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, commits a crime or returns to the women’s apartment.

Sell, who appeared in court in a black suit and top hat, and his attorney, David Love, declined to comment.

Lack of confidence

For almost a year, Kaestner, White and their third roommate reported that multiple men peered into and filmed inside their bedrooms at the Donnybrook Apartments complex.

The incidents left all three feeling unsafe and prompted them to install Ring cameras in windowsills of their bedrooms to document the men they reported to police at least 13 times.

In addition to Sell and Wade, Baltimore County police arrested 55-year-old Andrade Robinson on Peeping Tom misdemeanor charges. His trial is scheduled for next month.

In Wade’s case, Richardson said that prosecutors failed to prove Wade actually saw Kaestner, White or their third roommate inside one of their bedrooms.

White said Glover did not seem particularly confident that she could prove Sell had seen either of the girls, even though his face was captured peeking into White’s bedroom on the Ring camera footage, because the blinds were closed.

“That’s really what was the driving factor for me,” White said. “She just was like, ‘I don’t know, it could go either way.’ If she was like, ‘Oh yeah, we have this in the bag,’ then that would have been that.”

Kaestner said she thought taking the stet docket deal would at least provide some measure of safety for the women.

Neither can afford to move out of their first-floor apartment, they said.

Is the ‘Peeping Tom’ law flawed?

Shellenberger suggested that the statute Wade, Sell and Robinson were charged under could be amended by legislators in Annapolis. That statute defines such incidents as “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.”

There is another statute that includes bedrooms in a broader definition of a “private place,” but prosecutors would be required to prove that a defendant has a “prurient,” or sexualized intent.

“I think that could use a little tweak,” Shellenberger said. The longtime state’s attorney added that he thinks if the statute also included a criminal’s intent, that would make it easier for prosecutors to convince a judge.

Now what?

Robinson, the third man charged with Peeping Tom misdemeanors, was arrested after Baltimore County Police said they saw him using a a step stool to peek into a window at a different apartment complex — about 2.5 miles southwest of Kaester and White’s apartment.

Court records show the 55-year-old had allegedly been spotted outside the roommates’ Donnybrook residence prior to his arrest.

His trial will begin Aug. 24.