Controversy Over Unarrested Man Who Wore Electronic Ankle Bracelet and Peeped at Woman Hanging on Balcony

Victims Living in the Same Apartment Evacuate with Young Children

A man in his 40s wearing an electronic ankle bracelet due to a prior sex crime conviction was caught peeping into a neighboring woman’s house but was not arrested by the police. Instead, he was taken in for voluntary questioning and then sent home, sparking controversy. The victim, who lives in the same apartment complex as the man, reportedly fled to a third location with her young children.

This photo is not directly related to the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to Yonhap News Agency on the 2nd, citing the Pyeongtaek Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, a report was received on the 29th of last month at around 10:50 p.m. from a woman identified as Ms. A, who lives on the first floor of an apartment in the jurisdiction, stating that "someone was secretly peeking into the house."

Ms. A testified to the police that she saw a man hanging from the veranda and shouted, "Who is it?" causing him to flee. It is known that only Ms. A and her young children were inside the house at the time.

Police who arrived at the scene found that the man had stepped on an outdoor air conditioning unit attached to the apartment building’s exterior wall, climbed outside the veranda, and attempted to open the window. After reviewing CCTV and vehicle black box footage and conducting an on-site investigation, the police obtained a confession from Mr. B, a man in his 40s living in the same apartment complex, and after confirming his identity, took him to the police station for voluntary accompaniment.

Police investigation revealed that Mr. B was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet due to a past sex crime conviction. However, since he had already been taken in voluntarily, it was too late to take emergency arrest measures. Ultimately, the police booked Mr. B without detention on charges of trespassing, handed him over to a probation officer, and sent him home.

Subsequently, concerned about the risk of reoffense, the police provided Ms. A with a smartwatch and arranged for her to stay at another family member’s home. Although the perpetrator returned to his own home after the crime, the victim ended up fleeing with her young children to avoid him.

Regarding this, a police official explained, "The officers who responded found Mr. B during inquiries long after the incident occurred and did not meet the conditions for arresting him as a suspect caught in the act. They judged that the urgency for an emergency arrest was low. Moreover, the suspect confessed to the crime and willingly agreed to accompany the police voluntarily."

Four days after the incident, the police decided to apply for a pre-arrest warrant for Mr. B. A police official explained, "The application for the pre-arrest warrant was delayed because the suspect denied attempting to open the veranda door, requiring additional investigation."

Meanwhile, during police questioning, Mr. B reportedly stated that before his own crime, he saw another person climbing onto the veranda and peeking inside Ms. A’s house, which made him curious if there was something inside, so he also looked inside. The police suspect that someone else, different from Mr. B and matching a different description than the suspect described by the victim, may have looked inside the victim’s house earlier. Investigations into this are ongoing in parallel.