Cedar Rapids police investigate peeping tom on city's west side

Police have taken eight reports of a man peaking into the windows of people's homes.

Neighbors have tried to catch the man themselves and chased after him for blocks through the streets of the Stoney Point subdivision on the northwest side.

The guy is even using a ladder to climb up and look into second-story windows.

“You always tell your wife, don't worry about it. People aren't out there. No one wants to look in your window. Then, you hear something like this,” neighbor Tom Moriarity said. “It kind of freaks you out. Do you sit up? Do you leave the lights on outside?”

In the early morning hours, neighbors say a man is running through their yards and peering into their windows while they get ready for school or work.

“I guess it's just another one of those strange perversions that some people are doing. It's a concern,” Linda Zadow, another neighbor, said.

Neighbors even posted signs describing the middle-aged, 200 pound man who has terrorized their homes for months. The say he's a white man with salt and pepper hair.

Police say this kind of situation is rare and almost unheard of in Cedar Rapids.

“The window-peakers we typically get calls on are ex-boyfriends coming over and trying to talk to the girl. That's a more common event than a stranger peeping-tom,” Cedar Rapids Police Sergeant Cristy Hamblin said.

Plus, this isn't the first time the community has had trouble with crime.

“I know the neighbors are concerned and a little worried. We had some break-ins about a year ago at the same time when the warmer weather came,” Zadow said.

Several neighbors have actually caught the guy standing on a ladder. Then, the man ditched the ladder right next to the house. Police have already taken two of the ladders into custody. But, they still have no idea who the guy is or why he's doing this.