Peeping Tom

Reports yesterday of a rape and sexual assaults in a College Park neighborhood of sorority and fraternity houses renewed long-standing worries about safety at Maryland's flagship college campus. Prince George's County police said they believe the same man might be responsible for two separate incidents early Thursday -- and that he also might be the Peeping Tom police were searching for last school year. The University of Maryland held a safety forum yesterday afternoon and will have another one Monday.

A Pennsylvania man has been arrested in a series of  "peeping Tom" incidents in Fenwick Island. Ocean City Police charged 44-year-old William Devon Jones of West Chester, Pa., with peeping into the windows of three apartments at the East of the Sun complex in Fenwick Island. During the investigation, Jones was observed by police as he rode his bicycle north from Ocean City into Delaware on Tuesday. He was then seen peeping into the windows of the complex, before returning to Ocean City.

A 24-year-old restaurant worker has been charged with being a "peeping Tom" after he allegedly peering at a 15-year-old girl and her sister several times last month at a home in Ferndale.Larry E. Williams, of the unit block of Glen Ridge Road, was charged with trespassing with the intent to invade privacy.Police said the girl had reported on Feb. 28 and several times before that a man had been watching her through a window of her home. The girl also said the man had watched her sister on Feb. 23.The man was arrested Thursday in a laundry room near his home.

A 35-year-old Crofton man faced additional charges Friday after Anne Arundel County Police said they found multiple videos of women changing, as well as a juvenile's pair of underwear inside his home. Charles Dean Novak of 1600 Fallowfield Court, was arrested and charged Dec. 27, after officers were called to the 1100 block of Fairlawn Court for a burglary where a resident told officers they found Novak sitting inside a car in the attached garage. Police located Novak who had a camcorder with videos depicting nude and partially nude people who did not appear to be aware they were being recorded.

Usually when controversial films from the 1960s and 1970s are re-released, they look laughably dated, but "Peeping Tom," Michael Powell's psychological thriller from 1960, can still give you the willies. The movie opens at the Charles Theatre today for a four-day run.The film portrays Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm), who works as a film technician, moonlights as a pornographer and in his spare time films women while he murders them, so he can watch the homemade "snuff" movies later. "Peeping Tom" is a graphic descent into the life of a sadistic pervert that effectively ended Powell's career (this was, after all, the man who made "The Red Shoes")

In his first race outside New York, Peeping Tom won the $200,000 General George Handicap yesterday at Laurel Park so convincingly that he stamped himself as a horse of national significance. A 4-year-old gelding stabled at Belmont Park, Peeping Tom capitalized on a blistering early duel by two speedsters to charge from last place, through and around horses, for a 3 1/2 -length victory. His time of 1 minute, 22 seconds for the seven furlongs fell three-fifths of a second off the 12-year-old track record of Tappiano.

A former Howard County detective who peeped into an Elkridge apartment window in January was given a sentence that will keep a conviction off his record as long as he successfully completes an 18-month probationary term. Francis Mort, 33, was sentenced to probation before judgment in Howard District Court yesterday, nearly three months after retired Washington County Judge Daniel W. Moylan found him guilty of being a peeping Tom. Before imposing sentence yesterday, Moylan, who was assigned to hear the case rather than one of Howard County's five district judges, noted Mort's clean criminal record and good driving record.

POLICE LOG* North Laurel: 9400 block of Mayflower Court: A 1991 red Honda Accord was stolen between 5 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday.9700 block of Mountain Laurel Way: A man was seen looking into windows by officers on a special detail about 10 p.m. Thursday. Thomas Gregg Steiner, 26, of the 7900 block of Underhill Road in Baltimore, was charged with trespassing and being a Peeping Tom.* Savage: 8500 block of Storch Woods Drive: Someone tried to steal a 1990 Toyota truck Wednesday or Thursday.

* King's Contrivance: 10200 block of Wayover Way: A blue 1987 Nissan Stanza with Maryland tags YRJ954 was stolen Oct. 3 or Oct. 4.* Long Reach: 8300 block of Tamar Drive: Police said a gaunt prowler, dressed in denim, with long, dark hair and a scruffy beard, was reported lurking on a patio late Tuesday night.* Oakland Mills: 9300 block of Mellenbrook Road: Someone slashed the tire of a bike parked at Thunderhill Elementary School Wednesday.* Owen Brown: 7200 block of Harbor Lane: A "Peeping Tom" was seen looking through a basement sliding glass door early Tuesday morning.

'Peeping' cases investigatedPolice are investigating a series of "Peeping Tom" incidents that have occurred during the past few weeks in several Columbia villages.In the latest incident, a bespectacled man wearing jeans and a polo shirt was reported looking into a bedroom window in the 5600 block of Columbia Road on Monday night. He was described as a white male, in his mid-20s, about 5 feet, 11 inches tall with brown hair.The incidents do not appear to be related. Twice last week, residents reported a Peeping Tom, but one suspect was described as a white male, the other a black male, police records show.

[Sony Pictures] Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter; James Mason, Helen Mirren. Both directed by Michael Powell. $24.96. *** 1/2 dvds Best known for directing one of the most beautiful (1948's The Red Shoes) and one of the most controversially voyeuristic (1960's Peeping Tom) films ever released, British director Michael Powell packed a lot more than those two milestones into his four-decade career. This two-disc set, with movies made available for the first time on DVD, offers evidence of both his talent and his singular vision.

Movies featuring a bunch of profoundly disturbed people dominate today's TV schedule. What better way to celebrate the Saturday before Halloween? That most messed-up of mama's boys, Norman Bates, gets to show off his prowess with a knife in Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece of horror, suspense and misdirection, Psycho (8 p.m., TCM). The 1960 film, made cheap and fast by the unit that worked with Hitchcock on his television show, packs more surprises than a truckload of Cracker Jacks. But often overlooked is the mastery of Anthony Perkins' performance as Norman.

Reports yesterday of a rape and sexual assaults in a College Park neighborhood of sorority and fraternity houses renewed long-standing worries about safety at Maryland's flagship college campus. Prince George's County police said they believe the same man might be responsible for two separate incidents early Thursday -- and that he also might be the Peeping Tom police were searching for last school year. The University of Maryland held a safety forum yesterday afternoon and will have another one Monday.

Towson man charged with lewd conduct A 38-year-old Towson man was arrested last week and charged with peeping into the windows of two Towson apartment complexes and exposing himself to women in the buildings. Clinton P. Gardner of the 1500 block of Putty Hill Ave. was spotted by undercover officers about 6:30 a.m. Nov. 22 near the Kenilworth at Charles apartment complex, according to police. Detectives said he matched a description of a Peeping Tom who had been reported in the area during the past year.

It was back-to-school shopping season at the Annapolis Mall. Two young women in short skirts browsed outfits at the Rave store, oblivious to the guy following them from rack to rack. They were also oblivious to the briefcase he'd positioned at their feet, and the little camera peeking from its top. When another woman at the store realized what was happening, she let loose a blood-curdling scream. The man, who turned out to be a suburban father in his 40s, was taking pictures up the girls' skirts, according to authorities.

For about four months, Glynis E. Neale had in her bedroom a 27-inch Sylvania television that she bought from a friend. Unknown to her, the TV - as well as a clock radio that she said the friend had given her months earlier as a gift - contained hidden cameras and transmitters. From a curtained van parked down the street from her Owings Mills home, police would later say, her friend was watching - and videotaping - her. Not satisfied with the "Peeping Tom" conviction that earned Anthony E. O'Neal a 30-day jail sentence, Neale filed a civil lawsuit.

POLICE LOG* Jessup: 7000 block of Old Waterloo Road: A Linthicum man was arrested Monday and charged with breaking and entering after police found him at the scene. Bernard E. Hutchinson, 44, was released on his own recognizance. On Sunday, police responding to an alarm in the same area found that someone had broken into four construction trailers.8900 block of Rosewood Way: Someone pried the passenger side window of a gray 1988 Honda Accord on Thursday or Friday, but no entry was made, police said.

Columbia peace vigil continues despite being fired upon Most people opted to stay inside. But Sherri Morgan put on her rain gear and stood in the downpour Dec. 8 at Little Patuxent and Broken Land parkways for an hour. "What's a little rain if you've been shot at?" she asked. For the past two months, Morgan and other members of the Patapsco Friends Meeting, a Quaker group in Ellicott City, have held a silent "peace vigil" from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays on the corner near The Mall in Columbia.