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Woman Berated For Reporting Neighbors’ ‘Creepy’ Cameras Facing Her Home Without Telling Them First

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There are many benefits to owning a house.

This includes decorating it to your liking, setting up the back and front yards however you so choose, and perhaps most importantly the privacy that you can’t quite get in an apartment building.

The only thing you have no control over when buying a house is your neighbors.

And it didn’t take long before Redditor Seagullcloud realized she may have drawn the short straw when it came to her neighbors in her new home.

Not only did her neighbors reveal themselves to be somewhat closed minded and judgemental, but they also put her privacy at risk.

But after angering them for how she handled her uncomfortable situation, the original poster (OP), took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:

“AITA for reporting my creepy neighbor’s cameras without talking to him first?”

The OP explained how she didn’t get off on the best foot with her new neighbors, after they scolded her for the clothes she was wearing in her backyard.

“I am a woman in my 20s and recently moved houses.

“I live on my own.”

“My new next door neighbors are a middle aged couple who are extremely religious.”

“I am not going to mention what religion they are but they’re on the more fundamentalistic side of their religion.”

“We’ve had amazing weather lately and I’ve been spending a lot of my time in my garden, chilling or working on my laptop, wearing shorts and t-shirts or summer dresses.”

“Just normal clothes.”

“I haven’t even really met my neighbors until one day, the woman, Mira, rang my doorbell.”

“To my surprise, she asked me to start covering up.”

“That she has a husband and growing boys and I shouldn’t be showing my body.”

“That ‘men can’t help but look’ and it’s our, women’s, responsibility to cover our bodies.”

“I told her no, and that men are perfectly capable of not looking and perhaps she should teach her husband and sons that they shouldn’t be creeps and I closed the door.”

However, Mira’s warning turned out to be somewhat useful to the OP, as it made her aware that her backyard might not have been as private as she thought.

“While I haven’t noticed anything earlier, now I was on high alert and whenever I was in the garden, I noticed someone in their house was often creeping on my through the window.”

“One day, I was coming home from shopping and saw the husband installing a camera FACING MY GARDEN.”

“I could see another one facing my living room.”

“It was creepy to say the least and I decided to get my own camera because I wasn’t feeling safe.”

“Well, turns out it was a good idea because the husband was a major peeping Tom.”

“Turns out that whenever his wife left and at night, I often stay up late, he would come and try to sneak a peak through my windows, mostly my downstairs bathroom.”

“I ended up reporting him to local authorities, not the police, for the cameras because you can’t have them facing someone else’s property where I live.”

“They made him take them down and the woman came over shouting at me how I lied about her husband and they got in trouble and she called me various names for the oldest profession in the world.”

“She claimed that it was a safety camera and I should’ve talked to them first and they would have sorted it out and I didn’t have to get the authorities involved.”

“But frankly, after the last conversation we had, I didn’t feel comfortable speaking with them.”

“I am now considering reporting him for peeping as well but I am wondering, AITA for reporting them for cameras without speaking to them first?”

Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:

  • NTA – Not the A**hole
  • YTA – You’re the A**hole
  • NAH – No A**holes Here
  • ESH – Everybody Sucks Here

The Reddit community stood behind the OP’s decision to contact the authorities, agreeing she was in no way the a**hole for doing so.

Everyone agreed that the OP’s neighbors didn’t deserve a heads up for their invasive behavior, and that it would be in her best interest to call the police, not only for her protection, but for any other vulnerable neighbors as well.

“NTA!”

“If you have video evidence of him peeping into your windows, time to call the cops!”

“A predator is a predator, no matter how ‘religious’.”

“As for the wife, she is brainwashed and likely insecure that her husband is a perv.”-Leather_Bluebird650.

“NTA.”

“You don’t have to give criminals a warning before reporting them.”

“Report him for peeping.”

“Very disturbing behavior.”

“Taking that together with his wife’s odd insistence about you needing to cover up in your own property I am seeing massive red flags waving.”-isogaymer.

“NTA.”

“You should’ve reported the peeping right away.”

“Please stop considering and just do it.”

“You’re under no obligation to talk to someone about their unlawful behavior before contacting the authorities.”-leftnomark.

“NTA.”

“He’s an active sexual predator and she’s enabling him.”

“And now harassing you.”

“Next time they do ANYTHING to you, call the police.”

“Start a paper trail of reports.”-ScreamingSicada.

“It’s not really ‘showing your body’ if they can only see it by peeping into and/ or covertly filming your garden.”

“NTA.”-Sk111W.

“Report the peeping.”

“Ask about a restraining order.”

“Maybe you can leverage all of this to get them to move.”

“NTA.”-The__Riker__Maneuver.

“NTA.”

“That is seriously messed up.”

“I am a man, and I am appalled at how men and women make excuses for creepy male behavior such as this.”

“Glad you reported them, I hope you don’t have any more issues going forward.”- iSpace-Kadet.

“NTA!”

“Please report them again this is creepy as F*CK.”- ingero.

“NTA.”

“She’s so brainwashed she’s blaming you for the fact that her husband is a predator.”

“Yikes.”-Suitable-Cod-1381.

“NTA.”

“NEVER question taking actions to protect yourself.”

“The wife knew and decided that she would blame you for it because they think it’s a woman role to not tempt men.”

“It ‘s good that you took action.”

“There’s no telling how far his nightly creeping would have gone if no-one called him out on it.”-Rohini_rambles.

“Report him for the peeping.”

“I’ve heard that peeping toms’ behavior sometimes escalates.”

“Keep your windows and doors locked.”

“NTA.”-ComprehensiveBand586.

“NTA.”

“You should report it to the local authorities as well.”

“It’s always best to have documentation if things were to escalate.”-sleepysleeperson1234.

“NTA.”

“They deserved it and definitely call the cops on him if you catch him sneaking around your house again.”

“What a creepy situation.”

“I’d hang blackout blinds on my windows if I were you, just in case.”

“Watching while you’re outside in the garden is one thing, looking into your windows is an entirely different situation.”-Odd_One_9972.

“NTA.”

“She already proved to be unreasonable when she attempted to blame you for her husband’s pervy staring so why would you expect her to be reasonable if you were to confront her on the creepy cameras?”

“I hope you kept your own camera though.”

“The husband’s behavior is seriously concerning.”-Key-Bit1208.

“Definitely report him for the peeping!”

“You should have called the police the second you saw him on your property looking through your windows.”

“That behavior is dangerous and could escalate for sure, also being completely inappropriate.”

“You have evidence as well.”

“Their views on women are revolting and I would be so uncomfortable with them next door.”-sashaopinion.

“NTA.”

“You should consider reporting him to the police instead of discussing it with his family as well because you don’t know if he’ll retaliate and at least there will be a police record that he’s a creep to build a case against him.”

“You probably aren’t the only one he’s been creeping on.”

“Stay safe!”- glopo11.

“Please report the peeping.”

“You may not be the only one he is doing this to and he needs to be stopped.”-drtennis13.

“NTA.”

“You did nothing wrong, but they did.”

“If you catch him on film peeping into your windows, I’d definitely recommend calling the police.”

“That is just WAY TO CREEPY.”

“You can also install motion detector lights, just don’t point them into their windows or you’ll be the one that’s TA.”

“Also, all you need is enough light to scare them away and signal you that something is out there.”

“It will also help your cameras to catch a clear view of the perpetrator.”

“You might want to consider putting up some sun shades, tarp like panels, to block the view into your backyard.”

“You can also plant trees inside your property line if space allows, but those will take a little longer to fill in and block their view.”

“Do whatever you can to feel safe and make sure to have curtains and window blinds.”- Petapotomus.

One can sympathize with the OP’s initial hesitancy to call the police, as doing so is no laughing matter.

But when your neighbors make you feel unsafe in your own home, then calling the police is likely your only option.

Here’s hoping this is a problem the OP won’t have to deal with for much longer.

Written by John Curtis

A novelist, picture book writer and native New Yorker, John is a graduate of Syracuse University and the children's media graduate program at Centennial College. When not staring at his computer monitor, you'll most likely find John sipping tea watching British comedies, or in the kitchen, taking a stab at the technical challenge on the most recent episode of 'The Great British Baking Show'.