Two female St. Thomas students who live off campus spotted and reported to police a peeping Tom in early September, helping lead to the arrest and filing of a charge against John David Searle.

The accused, who faces one felony count of surreptitious interference with privacy, has a long criminal history, including four prior gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor convictions for interference with privacy, dating back to 1995.

The night before St. Thomas classes began, junior Brittney Hornick said she was lying in bed when she noticed something outside her window.

“I saw a shadow pass the window, and I watched it to see if it was a car passing. After watching it for a while, I saw a man walk further past the window into the gated area,” Hornick said. “I watched him until he left, and then I woke up one of my roommates that shares a room with me. We went upstairs and watched him cross the street, walk towards his car and leave.”

Hornick and her roommate examined the outside of the house after the man left to make sure nothing was stolen or damaged. They called St. Thomas Public Safety, but no officers were sent because they live off campus. According to the St. Thomas Public Safety website, officers can perform some off-campus functions, including escorts, vehicle jumpstarts and lockouts within a six-block radius of the university. The website also advises students to call 911 for all off-campus incidents. The students then called the St. Paul Police Department non-emergency number and reported the incident. They also told the rest of their roommates about the incident.

A man returned the next night around the same time, according to one of Hornick’s roommates. Senior Emma Button was driving home when she noticed a BMW driving slowly down her street. After entering her house and looking out her bedroom window, Button saw the car park across the street and watched a man dressed in all black get out of the car. She then alerted her roommates to what was happening.

“We turned off the lights and looked through the window and, sure enough, we all watched him walk past our house,” Button said. “Then he must have been doing a lap of the block because he turned around and came down the other side of the street, and from that point, we watched him go into peoples’ yards. He would go into the windows that were in the gaps between the two houses, and it was kind of like he was checking the different houses to see if the lights were on or if people were there.”

Hornick believed it was the same man from the night before because he had the same build and was wearing similar clothing.

Hornick, who is a criminal justice major, and Button decided to take down the license plate numbers of the man’s car before calling police. Although scared, Button wrote down the plate numbers while Hornick stood by with pepper spray.

“I tried not to think about where he would be,” Button said. “We walked to his car – it was a silver BMW – and took down his plate number. All of our roommates were watching from the windows, ready to do something if anything happened. Then we walked back, and I had my thumb ready to call 911 if we heard anything.”

Once inside, the students watched the man drive away and then called police to report the plate numbers.

Officers came to the house, and the students told police what they saw and provided a physical description of the name. Hornick said the officers seemed to already know of the man by the description and actions they described.

“When we were talking to them, they had heard this all before,” Hornick said.

According to a Ramsey County criminal complaint, the next night, undercover officers saturated the neighborhood around 9 p.m. Officers spotted a parked BMW. Searle was seen walking up to windows, holding what police thought was a cell phone or video camera. Eventually, Searle was arrested.

While investigating, officers found small holes in window screens in one home occupied by three young women, according to the complaint.

Button said an officer checked the window screens of her duplex and did not see any holes. She and Hornick were relieved by the news but said they have talked to a lot of students who do have holes in their screens.

Button said she and her roommates have since felt uncomfortable in their neighborhood and have taken precautions around their house such as installing motion light detectors and thicker blinds.

The students have also since looked up Searle online and feel uneasy about his past criminal records. The criminal complaint stated that Searle has five prior felony convictions for harassment and stalking. He has two previous gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor stalking convictions from 1996 and 1997. Searle also has a prior felony conviction for interference with privacy in Hennepin County.

“I think that’s what creeps me out the most, is that he’s clearly done this so much,” Button said. “And I just think that makes me worried about why hasn’t he been put away, or why haven’t more drastic measures been taken?”

Additionally, Button said she and her roommates were upset by the lack of assistance from public safety.

“It seems ridiculous that (public safety) didn’t come to our house because we were outside of the six-block radius from campus,” Button said. “But this guy moves. He was going into the six- block, and we’re still students of St. Thomas. I think they maybe need to change their policy a little bit to be more like, we’re going to report to St. Thomas students.”

Public Safety did not comment about the case, despite multiple requests from TommieMedia.

Hornick said she may consider moving closer to campus next year to ensure her personal safety.

“I do enjoy living off campus, but I want to be as safe as possible,” she said.

She also hopes her story will make students, especially those women living off campus, more cautious.

“I really hope that this does help women become more aware,” Hornick said. “Make it a habit to shut the shades or only have the window open a little bit. Not necessarily paranoid, but just have a plan ready.”

Searle is currently in custody on $100,000 bail. If convicted, the maximum sentence is two years in prison or a $5,000 fine or both. He is set to appear in court at 1:15 p.m. Monday.

Claire Noack can be reached at noac8702@stthomas.edu.