A peeper is haunting SSH& complex Proosdij again, residents feel unsafe
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Photo for illustration. Photo: Suzie (CC)
A peeper is active at the student housing complex Proosdij. Multiple students have seen a man peeping through their windows. He even knocked on the door of one person. That is not the first time residents have been harassed by a dodgy person. 'It makes you feel uneasy.'
‘I was lying on the bed with my girlfriend when I suddenly heard a sound at one of my windows,’ says a 26-year-old student who lives at the SSH& complex Proosdij. ‘When I stuck my head out the window, I suddenly saw a man 1,5 meters away, standing against my other window. He quickly turned around when he saw me and left.’
The student, who wants to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, was left with an unpleasant feeling. ‘I was just ehh… busy with my girlfriend,’ he says somewhat embarrassed. ‘It could be that the pervert had been watching through a gap between the curtains.’
Action
The following morning, the 26-year-old student immediately took action. He called the police and the SSH& and asked around amongst his fellow residents. This way, he found out that more students at Proosdij are bothered by a person who peeps inside or knocks on windows in the evening or at night.
Former student peepers
At the start of 2020, SSH& already sent letters to the residents of Proosdij warning them of an active peeper. Students were advised to properly close windows and doors, and to close the curtains when it was dark outside in order to prevent anyone from looking in.
This is not the first time that a peeper has been active in the city: in the past, Nijmegen-Oost was also plagued by a peeper. Kars van R., commonly known as the ‘student peeper of Nijmegen’, groped and threatened multiple young women between 2012 and 2014. In 2017, Van R. was sentenced to 4 years in prison and compulsory TBS. The public prosecutor’s office declined to comment on whether Van R. is still in custody or not. The police cannot say anything about a possible connection either.
Other students confirm that story. ‘A few weeks ago, someone knocked on our window very early in the morning,’ says an 18-year-old student. ‘At first I thought I imagined it but then I heard of others in the building experiencing the same thing and I got a bad feeling.’ Her roommate adds: ‘It was the window of my room; I was too scared to sleep in my own room for a few days. I do sleep there again but every evening I check if I closed my door and window properly. It’s still unpleasant.’
Unsafe feeling
The two did not see the peeper themselves, but a 22-year-old resident did. ‘It’s a man who walks right next to the windows and peeps in. If you look back, he’ll quickly walk on. I live next to the lawn and you don’t walk there if you don’t have a reason for it. The first time, I thought it was somebody who was a bit further away, but after the umpteenth time I knew it wasn’t random.’
The man also knocked on the windows of the 22-year-old resident in the middle of the night. ‘That was around 2 I think. This is the first time that I live on my own, so it makes you feel uneasy when someone like that is walking around at night. It bothers me a lot.’
WhatsApp group
Meanwhile the residents of the three different buildings of Proosdij have connected through a WhatsApp group to keep an eye out together and help each other if necessary. ‘The social cohesion has become very strong amongst residents, that gives you a good feeling,’ says the 22-year-old student.
When asked, the police confirmed that they are aware of the situation. They know about the 26-year-old student’s report and have already received a similar notice in September. The police has also talked to several residents and SSH& in response to the concerns. Officers will check the student facility at the Verlengde Groenestraat more often during their patrol rounds.
According to a police spokesperson, peeping itself is not illegal, unless the man steps onto private property. He does advise the students who are bothered by the man to call the police. ‘We can then confront him on the basis of his behaviour.’
The SSH& was not available for a response today. The editorial staff is aware of the students’ names.
