A man who was seen in a TikTok video lurking near women’s legs in Burbank was arrested and released from jail allegedly due to overcrowding.
According to the victim, Michaela Witter, 28, this release marks the criminal justice system failing her and so many others in similar situations.
The suspect, Calese Crowder, 37, was seen in a viral video lurking extremely close to Witter’s legs while she was browsing at a Barnes & Noble store on Aug. 7.
After reporting the incident to police, Crowder was later arrested on Aug. 11 during an unrelated incident in which he was accused of peeping into a home with children and a family inside.
“I’ve been so anxious and almost had a panic attack the other day because someone was knocking on my door,” Witter said following Crowder’s release. “Everyone’s telling me to be careful, don’t go anywhere by yourself, bring a TASER. It’s just it’s really scary knowing he’s out there.”
In the TikTok video, Witter describes noticing a strange man following her around the store.
Believing Witter was unaware, the man is seen crouching down low and getting extremely close to Witter’s legs. He is later seen doing the same thing to another woman browsing nearby.
She later discovered Crowder has a long criminal history, including serving eight years in prison for peeping, prowling and burglarizing homes.
During a court appearance on Aug. 15, prosecutors said Crowder admitted to enjoying watching women and was once caught pleasuring himself while following a woman who was walking her dog.
He pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 52 weeks of sexual impulse rehabilitation therapy.
But in a turn of events, Crowder was released from jail the very next morning, allegedly due to jail overcrowding.
“We have to find our own protection,” Witter said. “Until he does something worse, [the police] are not going do anything and I’m scared.”
L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall explains that, although offenders may be sentenced to 60 days in jail, it may not mean they will actually serve that amount of time.
“At some points, it gets up to like 75% of people released re-commit offenses,” Siddall said. “Instead of dealing with the actual problem, what we did was, we changed the definition of rehabilitation. We used to have, and we fought really hard for, what is called, “Truth in Sentencing.”
Truth in sentencing refers to the conversation surrounding what offenders are sentenced to and what they actually end up serving.
“Unfortunately, that no longer exists nor is there the infrastructure to be able to house people properly because we haven’t invested in our criminal justice system for decades,” Sidall explained.
He and others believe much change is needed to overhaul the current criminal justice system
For now, Crowder was released and his next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14.