A man who police allege was behind two Peeping Tom incidents earlier this block told an arresting officer that he was “being fuckin’ stupid” when he watched female students showering in Loomis.
Campus Safety announced Monday afternoon that the Colorado Springs Police Department had arrested a man in connection with the Peeping Tom incidents in Loomis Hall bathrooms last week.
Jason Newton, Campus Resource Officer, conducted a follow-up investigation and identified Andrew James Browning, 24, as the man who allegedly spied on two female students in Loomis, Campus Safety said.
“On Thursday last week, Colorado College Campus Safety received a tip that the male in the photos that CC released looked like a male named Andrew Browning that they knew on Facebook,” police spokesman Barbara Miller said. “Officer Newton was able to find his page and track him down and arrest him earlier today.”
Newton went to Browning’s last known address, 1220 Norwood Ave. in southeast Colorado Springs, where he encountered the suspect and showed him images CC surveillance cameras.
“He admitted to being at the college and stated that he was just walking around,” Newton wrtoe in a probable cause affidavit.
Court documents say that Browning was then transported back to a police substation where he was mirandized and decided to waive his rights and make a statement. Browning then admitted walking into a student’s room and attempting to steal a laptop.
“When questioned about the invasion of privacy cases, he admitted that he was in the women’s bathroom, but he was just using the bathroom,” court records say. “He stated that he ran out because he saw the shower door opened and he freaked out. He later admitted to both incidents of invasion of privacy.”
Browning told Newton he did not have pictures of the victims and he indicated that he had just looked at the students.
Browning has been charged with 11 offenses, including three counts of second-degree burglary, three counts of first-degree criminal trespass, three counts of second-degree criminal trespass, and two counts of invasion of privacy. He is currently being held at the El Paso County jail in lieu of $110,000 bail according to jail log records.
Last Sunday evening, Campus Safety sent an all-campus timely warning email to the community outlining two instances where a man had walked into a women’s bathroom in Loomis and peered in on a female student showering.
The first incident took place last Saturday night when a female student who was showering around 10 p.m. noticed someone watching her through a crack in the shower door. Then last Sunday afternoon, another female student reported that she walked into a bathroom and saw a man holding a phone at the top of a shower stall, the College said.
After analyzing surveillance footage in accordance with student reports, Campus Safety believed they were looking for a single suspect who was responsible for both incidents.
“Subsequent to the timely warning being issued, several students notified Campus Safety that they though that has seen an individual matching the description in the timely warning, helping us narrow the time frames and locations that the suspect entered or exited the facilities,” Campus Safety said in an email Monday.
Surveillance video from Loomis showed the subject loitering briefly in the lobby area, pretending to use his cell phone while waiting to enter the elevator when someone else exited. This tactic gave him access to the building without a Gold Card.
On another occasion, Campus Safety said, the suspect entered the lobby behind two students, appearing to be part of their group when they entered the elevator in the lobby.
Mike Edmonds, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, informed parents of the incident in an email, asking them to reiterate risk reduction tips to their children.
Jesse Paul
Editor-in-Chief