Family: Peeping Tom drilled hole into bathroom

SUGAR HILL, Ga. — A family is frightened after police said a Peeping Tom was leering into their bathroom.

Gwinnett police said Steven Applin lurked around a Sugar Hill home and found a way to peer inside.

"He had actually peeled away the metal skirt of the trailer and put a mattress in there," Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department said.

Above the mattress, police said Applin cut a hole into the home.

"It appeared that it had been chiseled away with a metal object," Smith said.

The family showed Channel 2's Craig Lucie the hole, which was inside a cabinet, directly across from the toilet and next to the shower.

"From sitting on that mattress on the crawl space, you could look through the hole in the floor, through the medicine cabinet," Smith said. "You could see the shower and toilet in the family's bathroom."

The parents, who did not want to be identified, said their children told them weeks ago they saw a man outside their window.

The father said he went outside and didn't see anyone, but he eventually spotted the man Sunday night. The father chased the man down in the street.

Neighbor Jackie Wheeler said she recognizes Applin because he grew up in the neighborhood.

"He's a very nice guy. He was always nice to us," Wheeler said.

Wheeler said she's now frightened, unaware if Applin ever came around her house at night.

Applin is facing Peeping Tom, burglary and loitering charges.

WSBTV