Northville Township police are searching for a man described as a peeping Tom who was spotted wearing only a baseball cap, black socks, and shoes during an early-morning prowl on Wildflower Drive on Tuesday. The suspect, believed to be between 25 and 40 years old, has not been identified, and investigators are leaning on the neighborhood's own security cameras to help track him down.
According to CBS News Detroit, the incident happened between 1 a.m. and 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday on Wildflower Drive, a residential street the Northville Township Police Department says sits near the intersection of Six Mile Road and Sheldon Road. Police have released a photo of the suspect and are asking anyone who recognizes him to call 248-349-9400.
Investigators are specifically urging residents near that Six Mile and Sheldon corridor to dig through their home security cameras and video doorbell recordings from the overnight window when the man was seen, hoping someone's footage caught an angle detectives haven't found yet.
A Rare Alert in a Historically Quiet Suburb
The search is notable in part because it's happening in a community where this kind of incident is unusual. Northville Township, a charter township in western Wayne County roughly 27 miles northwest of downtown Detroit, recorded a record low of 739 total offenses in 2024 — a 20% drop from the year before, according to township data collection dating back to 2012. The department, which has been led by Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Scott Hilden since December 2021, also holds national accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a distinction only a select group of agencies nationwide can claim.
The department's push for public help comes amid heightened regional attention to residential privacy violations. Just a day before the Northville Township announcement, Oakland County prosecutors charged a West Bloomfield Township official on August 13 with felony counts tied to alleged hidden video surveillance in private residential rooms.
What Charges Could Look Like
Under Michigan law, a straightforward case of window peeping falls under Penal Code section 750.167(1)(c), which classifies it as disorderly conduct — a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. But the calculus changes sharply if a recording device was involved: Penal Code sections 750.539d and 750.539j make it a felony to use a device to observe, photograph, or record someone in a private place or while unclothed, carrying up to two years in state prison and a $2,000 fine for a first offense. Nothing in the case so far indicates which statute, if any, will ultimately apply, since the suspect has not been identified or charged.
For now, the man remains at large, and police are counting on residents' own cameras to close the gap. Anyone with information or footage from the overnight hours of Tuesday is asked to contact Northville Township police.
