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Peeping Tom Suspect Caught In Anne Arundel County

CROFTON, Md. (WJZ)—Girls' underwear and secret videos of young women changing are just some of the evidence police say they seized from a man's home in Anne Arundel County.

Suzanne Collins explains police say this suspected peeping Tom has been targeting women for years.

There's a tape of a naked woman in her home from last fall and another woman from almost three years ago. Police don't know how many victims there may be.

In a Crofton neighborhood, police say a man slipped out of view and up to a window. Inside, a teenager was naked. The camera rolled, and now Charles Novak is charged with that crime.

There are other victims.

"Oh, that's kinda creepy," said Kathy Schwink. "That's gross. It kind of makes me want to pull all my shades. All the time."

But there's more. Police also found video from inside the same teenager's home. At her dresser, a man's hand is seen fondling her underwear, which disappeared from her drawer.

"We've seized some electronic equipment of his," said Lt. James Fredericks, Anne Arundel County Police, "and some evidence we had from other residences," including videotapes and underwear.

Novak was first arrested after breaking in a home after Christmas, but the investigation led to videos of various women. Now he faces 21 counts.

In the neighborhood where Novak lives, people have seen a peeping Tom and now a letter has gone out from the homeowners' association.

"I feel for the women caught up in this situation being videotaped without knowing what's going on," said John Bloomfield.

One woman who lives on that block in Crofton must have been stunned when police came to her with two videotapes and asked her to look at them. When she did, she saw herself on tape, naked in her own home.

The problem is how police will figure out who the other women are on the tapes they've seized.

They hope possible victims will call.

"We can't put out video out there that shows, 'Hey you may be on this,'" Lt. Fredericks said.

Police say they face a quandary. Let's say the female's face in the video isn't clear. They could be showing one person video of another person naked.

Anne Arundel County Police say if you think you are a victim of the peeping Tom in the Crofton area, call them at 410-222-8610.

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