A Columbia man was arrested outside of the Delta Delta Delta house after police reported he was caught peeping into the sorority’s windows.
The man, 20-year-old Andrew Keys, was charged with two counts of second-degree trespassing. Keys was visibly intoxicated during the Feb. 14 incident and found to be in possession of two fake IDs. Police said his actions, which might not have directly affected anyone, might be indicative of more serious crimes, including rape.
Charges for peeping tend to fall under trespassing or sometimes stalking, Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said. Most cases of peeping involve a connection between the invader of privacy and the one whose privacy has been invaded, Stroer said.
But peeping might have been a bigger problem in the past than it is now. According to a past Maneater article, a series of peeping incidents were reported to MUPD in 1997, including one in which a male suspect pulled the shower curtain back when a female student was showering in Hatch Hall.
In 2010, a serial flasher went to several Columbia stores, including the Walmart on West Broadway and The UPS Store on Clark Lane, where he exposed himself to female employees.
Boone County Assistant Prosecutor Tracy Gonzalez said that apprehending suspects charged with invading the privacy of another can sometimes be difficult.
Crimes like peeping are much more prevalent in public places such as dressing rooms in clothing stores than they are in private, home locations, she said. Evidence against perpetrators can come in video, audio or simply testimonial form from the victim or a witness of any of the many variations of peeping.
“In this day and age, there may be video evidence from a cell phone or camera of what the person ‘peeping’ was looking at,” Gonzalez said.
When it comes to solving crimes regarding peepers, police use a variety of tactics. Stroer cited a case in which her team was eventually able to apprehend a peeper after collecting semen that had been discharged at the trespassed location.
Current trends show that peeping is not a major crime in Columbia. When it comes to stalking and trespassing, it’s often not an unprovoked act, Stroer said. Usually those taking part in crimes have some sort of relation to their victim.
In regards to last week’s peeping incident, Delta Delta Delta member Sarah Pendergrass said she knew many of her sorority sisters had heard of the incident, but they felt Keys was apparently harmless.
“I’ve been here for a few years now, and nothing like that has come across my desk,” Greek Life Director Julie Drury said.