Museum District predator caught on camera again, neighbors fear behavior is escalating

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Those living in Richmond’s Museum District are on edge after new footage shows a predator walking through apartment alleyways again.

Police are still searching for the suspect.

The ‘Peeping Tom’ was initially caught on camera exposing himself back in early December.

Now, neighbors fear his predatory behavior is escalating.

“It was horrible, you know. I was immediately in tears because it’s threatening, it’s terrifying,” said Museum District resident Haleigh Fitzpatrick-Owen.

Fitzpatrick-Owen is the most recent woman to catch the creeper on camera, sharing a new video on Monday night.

“I thought, oh my god, like there’s no way it’s been a month without any incidents like could it be him? Then I look, and I see it’s the same man who has been coming back and forth to my apartment and other women’s apartment buildings,” said Fitzpatrick-Owen.

She says the man, dressed in a hoodie, jacket and hat, looks identical to the Peeping Tom seen in other security videos.

Fizpatrick-Owen immediately called police.

“I spoke to my next-door neighbor, and she said a few days earlier she had seen a man describe similarly trying to enter in through my backdoor. And when I heard that, I was terrified,” she said.

Haleigh says the situation has gotten so bad there’s a group chat full of women who have fallen victim to the Peeping Tom.

“He’s attempting to get inside, looking through windows,” she said. “So it’s just a general fear has kind of been cast over this neighborhood.”

She learned through the group chat the man left a pair of pants outside one woman’s door and an inappropriate book and gloves outside another.

In December, one woman NBC12 spoke with says she caught the suspect fondling himself outside her living room window.

These women say they believe the offender is escalating, leaving them deeply disturbed and afraid.

“What right does anybody have to make women feel unsafe in their own homes and to cause this much unsettlement within our community?” said Fitzpatrick-Owen.

Many residents are now investing in alarm systems and security cameras. Some even are arming themselves.

Richmond police believe all these instances involve one man who they have not identified yet.

The Richmond Police Department said these incidents are under investigation. They have also increased patrolling in the area and asked anyone with video or information to contact Major Crimes Detective O. Reyes at (804)-646-3874 or Crime Stoppers at (804)-780-1000.

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