Peeping Tom Touches Himself, Terrifies Residents; Community Pleads With Police for Help

GREENPORT, NY — As a Peeping Tom peers into Greenport windows at night, exposing himself and masturbating, residents say they have been forced to live in fear.

Facilitated by Greenport resident Jaime Martilotta, a meeting to address the issue with Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley took place in the community room of Floyd Memorial Library Tuesday night.

Most of those present — the group comprised of approximately two dozen women — asked that their names not be given and their photos not taken, since many said they were victims.

Martilotta, said along with the incidents that have been reported, many others have not been reported. She decided to take action when a person "near and dear" to her was victimized.

Flatley said over the past two years, at least four such incidents have been reported. He added that because Greenport is more densely populated, there are "more people on foot" and a higher number of Peeping Tom-type incidents than in communities such as Mattituck or Cutchogue, where there is "not as much foot traffic.

A number of the incidents have been "really disconcerting to us," Martilotta said. During one incident recently, the man opened the window and made an attempt to get in. Once he realized the woman was awake, he fled, she said.

One of the two men in the crowd said he believed the culprit's behavior could be "escalating."

Flatley said police do have their eyes on "one person," but added, "We have to keep an open mind. It could be more than one person."

He added, though, that one person is a suspect in the past "two or three" incidents.

The Peeping Tom issue has been plaguing village residents for yearsfor years.

One woman in the crowd said angrily, "He doesn't just look in the window. I think we're being very polite. He's not a Peeping Tom. He's a serial masturbator. I'm not afraid to say it."

Some residents didn't even attend the meeting or report the incidents due to the "shame" involved, another woman said.

Residents expressed frustration that not more can be done; even if apprehended, the charge would be trespassing, or a misdemeanor, with little, if any jail time.

"We've come very close" to catching the man, Flatley said.

Once incident in April involved a baby-sitter on Second Street who saw the man looking in the window and reported it to police right away, Flately said.

The problem has been that although the description involves "a black male, heavyset,wearing all black and a black hood and black hat", those types of descriptions are not enough for an arrest. "We have an identification problem," Flatley said. "In order to arrest someone wehave to identify them."

Although a few victims have told police they can identify the man, they were unable to do so during the identification process; one woman picked the wrong photograph during a photo spread, of a person who's not the alleged suspect, Flatley said.

Martilotta asked of the suspect in question was being watched.

Flatley said police are "well aware of who he is and what we feel he's been up to," but he has not been picked up and his family has not been cooperative. The chief also said that not every complaint had involved a charge of masturbation.

Another woman asked for increased patrols between 4 and 6 a.m., when he has been seen prowling the streets, including South Street and 4th Street. "Where is our protection?" she asked.

Flatley said anyone who sees him should call and say they see a suspicious person and that they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. He added that there isn't enough manpower to just leave a sector car on the street; that sector car is responsible for the entire area out to Orient and is often in back of Front Street bars "baby-sitting" clientele, he said.

One woman said she bought a security camera, another, floodlights, to help increase safety measures.

Martilotta said the man has even shown up at homes with children present.

"The severity of the issue is not being properly addressed," Martilotta said.

She asked why some crimes, such as a purse stolen from the top of a car in Mattituck was the subject of a Crime Stoppers bulletin, with a $5,000 reward. "We need some real answers here," she said.

Flatley said in that Mattituck crime, videotape existed that helped to expedite the investigation.

One woman tapes her blinds to the walls and put up curtains.

Chatty Allen said she moved her bed into the living room because her bedroom windows are on the porch, close to the street.

Flatley said if a person sees the man, they should dial 911 immediately and never confront him directly. If a child is present, he added, parents should get the child as far away from the window as possible and call for help.

Some asked why he wasn't being charged with a sex crime or a hate crime, since victims are women.

"We're not dealing with someone who's sane. And we don't know what he's capable of in the future," another woman said.

"He's progressing. What he's going to do when he makes it in, we have no idea," another person said.

The residents expressed outraged that nothing more has been done.

"He's allowed to be terrorizing us. If it happened in Southold or Mattituck or any other neighborhood, they would be on it," one person said.

"I wouldn't agree with that," Flatley said.

Others pleaded for additional patrols.

"If it was your children, what would you do?" one woman asked.

"I'm not embarrassed about this. I didn't do anything wrong," one woman said. "It's not something I feel ashamed of, but it terrifies me."

Others said the man's presence, lurking behind shades, "makes you uncomfortable in your own house," which they felt was unfair.

"Your house is supposed to be your sanctuary," Martilotta said. She added she'd like to educate the public to keep them safe.

The man was even found crouching in one resident's rose bushes.

Another woman said she'd love to be able to let her kids sleep with the window open on a summer night.

One man said more severe legal penalties was the option.

Residents urged police to use social media to check the man's Facebook page; modern technology should be used as a tool, they said.

While no name was given at the meeting, Flatley said the suspect in question had been arrested a number of times. "He's got a criminal history," the chief said. "His psychiatric profile, has so many different behaviors. It is scary. You can watch people progress but it's a matter of trying to intercede. I wish I had four officers" to dedicate to the case, he said. "There's only so much we can do."

Others suggested police ride bikes to catch the man, who knows back escape routes when he hears a police car approaching.

The streets in question also include Center Street, Second and Third Streets, and Ludlam Place, residents said.

Flatley urged residents to cover their windows; Allen said she already does.

"Who wants to live like that?" another person asked.

One woman, who has children, said, "I think about it every night. When I'm sitting on my couch, I wonder if he can see through the crack in the shade. I'm alone at night with my children and it's scary."

She added that he could enter and traumatize her small children.

Flatley said so far, the man has not been inside a home or charged with burglary. "That's not saying it won't happen," he said.

"It's no less traumatizing," another woman said.

Flatley said the suspect in question was arrested in 2014 and charged with trespassing; others expressed frustration that he only served 45 days in jail.

If the man could be identified, he could be charged with attempted burglary.

"When you wake up and you're scared," it's not easy to identify someone or take a photo, another woman said.

Residents urged their neighbors to report any incidents. "Don't be embarrassed or afraid," one woman said. "A lot of the time, because of the sexual nature of the incidents, victims feel ashamed."

One woman said if he is arrested again, a large group should show up in court. "We, as Greenporters, are fed up," she said.

Another woman shook her head. "I still don't feel any better," she said.

Flatley said he heard the concerns of the community and he'd do his best to put more manpower on after midnight; two or three new officers were being hired, he said.