Serial Peeping Tom charged again for multiple incidents in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man with a long history of stalking and creeping on women has been charged again for four separate incidents, accused of spying on college women in Minneapolis.
Peeping Tom charged in Minneapolis
What we know:
John Searle, 55, is charged with interfering with privacy in three separate cases for four separate incidents in July 2025, July 2026, and then just this past week. All three complaints against Searle were filed just this week.
FOX 9 has previously reported on Searle's behavior dating back 10 years, when he was arrested for taking videos of women near the University of St. Thomas.
In that case, Searle was caught recording young women through their windows. When officers searched his home, they found multiple videos of women who had been recorded in their homes without their knowledge. One video showed a naked young woman in her bathroom.
Big picture view:
Court documents list at least six previous cases of stalking and interfering with privacy but note he has several more dating back to 1995. Court records also list a civil commitment for Searle marked as "sexual dangerous and psychopathic personality."
The charges allege that, beyond the recent changes, Searle is suspected in "a number of similar cases between 2024 and 2026 in the area of Como, the University of Minnesota campus, and Marcy-Holmes neighborhoods."
Searle charged again
The backstory:
Searle is now accused of spying on women in four separate incidents between July 2025 and just this past week.
July 2025
Police responded around midnight to the report of a prowler in the area of 26th Avenue SE and Weeks Avenue SE near college housing in the Como neighborhood.
A woman told officers that she spotted the man crouched outside her bedroom and bathroom window trying to record her with an iPad.
The victim told police about previous prowling incidents dating back to Sept. 2024 where she spotted figures outside her window or neighbors alerted her to a man outside her building.
Police were able to identify Searle as a suspect by reviewing similar cases and reviewing a video the victim had taken of the suspect. Officers then were able to place Searle in the area via automated license plate readers and his cell phone data.
July 2026
Searle is accused of returning to the same neighborhood in July 2026. In that incident, police were called on July 15 for the report of a prowler in the area of Como Avenue SE and 25th Avenue SE.
The 911 caller reported a man dressed in all black sitting in a company vehicle outside her residence. The caller said she had noticed the man previously, parked in front of her home about five days earlier. The woman also told police she had seen the man around her property multiple times in the previous weeks.
It's unclear what happened after police responded. However, the victim again called 911 a few hours later when she spotted the same prowler outside her home on surveillance cameras.
At that point, officers were able to identify the company vehicle and contact the owner. According to the complaint, the owner told officers the vehicle was driven by an employee identified as Searle.
Another woman who lived in the 911 caller's home said she saw the prowler crouched by a basement window on July 10, and she had scared him off on that occasion. However, the complaint alleges she saw the same prowler crouched near the same basement window on July 15. This time, she said the prowler said "sorry" before he dashed away.
The charges state all three people living in the house were "fearful" of coming home and finding the prowler in their yard.
October 2026
Police again responded to the report of a prowler in the Como neighborhood, this time on Weeks Avenue near 27th Avenue SE.
Witnesses told police the man appeared to be trying to use an iPad to photograph women through a bathroom window. Like the July incident, one witness confronted the prowler, and said he ran off towards train tracks south of the neighborhood.
Police searched the area and say they found Searle on a Lime scooter in the area of 24th Avenue SE and Elm Street SE, which is just south of where the prowler was reported on the opposite side of the train tracks.
According to the complaint, Searle claimed he was visiting friends in the area. Police asked him why he was carrying an iPad and Searle reportedly responded that it was for "school."
According to the complaint, Searle allowed the officers to check the iPad, and they found videos in the photos app of a naked woman in a bathroom.
The complaint says officers later found Searle's vehicle parked on Weeks Avenue directly across from the house where the prowler was spotted.
What's next:
Searle remains in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. He made his first court appearance on the charges Thursday.
The Source: This story uses previous FOX 9 reporting and information from court records.