Plea agreement reached for alleged window peeper

Published 11:12 am Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A 41-year-old Austin man accused of peeping into windows and taking photos of people changing clothes entered into a plea agreement Monday.

Rodney Wayne Christenson pleaded guilty in Mower County District Court to two gross misdemeanor charges of interfering with privacy. Five stalking charges and two other counts of interfering with privacy were dismissed, including one charge of interfering with the privacy of a minor.

On Wednesday, April 13, around 6 a.m., police received a call that a man was looking in windows near the 600 block of 12th Avenue SW. When officers arrived, they saw a car matching the caller’s description leaving the area.

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Christenson was pulled over in the 1300 block of Sixth Street SW. According to a court complaint, his blood alcohol content was .21. When officers asked if he had a camera on him, he said he didn’t. However, a camera with videos of people changing clothes and exercising was found in his jacket pocket, court documents reported.

When police viewed the videos, they found one that appeared to have been shot from a pine tree into a couple’s bathroom. Officers also found one video of a small child naked in a bathtub, according to the court complaint. Some of the videos had been taken before April 13, including one dating back to mid-October. All of the videos appear to have been shot through windows, according to the court complaint.

Christenson also faces DWI charges.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 4.