TOWSON, Md. — Looking at your security cameras and seeing a Peeping Tom is scary, but if they don't see you, is it against the law?
That was the question at the center of a peeping tom case that left officials going back to the drawing board.
After being charged for looking into a Towson University student's window, Johnnie Wade Jr. was found not guilty based on a technicality.
Peeping Tom suspect found not guilty on technicality
WMAR-2 News spoke with Towson student Chloe White about the situation back in April where she told us that her ring camera had caught several men looking into her and her roommates windows at Donnybrook Apartments.
Wade was in court for the crime on Tuesday.
The next day, Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger told WMAR-2 News that he expected a different outcome than the one he was handed.
“No question that this person was looking in that window for the very purpose of seeing someone. It just so happens nobody was there," Shellenberger said.
According to Maryland Law, a Peeping Tom is a person that did attempt to conduct visual surveillance of another person in a private place without their consent.
This week, the judge deciding Wade's case ruled that because no one was in the room Wade was looking into, he's not guilty.
“Going forward we’re going to make some adjustments to make sure that this doesn’t happen again," Shellenberger said, dictating next steps.
Two other men were charged in the situation, 55-year-old Andrade Robinson and 56-year-old Daniel Sell.
Charging documents state that Robinson used a step ladder to allegedly film inside the Towson student's apartment.
Authorities say that Sell was captured on Ring cameras looking into their windows.
Looking ahead to their cases, Shellenberger has two main ways to make sure he doesn't hear a not guilty verdict again and it starts with adding the attempt to peep to the charge.
“So by adding the word, the charge of attempt, then I think just his intention can be shown even if nobody’s in the room or not," he said, “The other thing is, I think maybe we need to think about going down to the legislature starting in January to maybe expand some of the definitions and make it a little clearer about what is against the law and what is not.”
He said people also can't forget about Peeping Tom's use of technology.
“We had a case last year in which somebody had hidden a camera in a young person’s room and was looking through that direction. So, as you come up with technology, people come up with new ways to commit crimes and we need to just stay ahead of that.”
Sell's trial is set for July 28th and Robinson's is scheduled for August 24th.
