Littleton burglar-masturbator gets 5 years

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, August 30, 2007

A Littleton man accused of breaking into homes to masturbate was sentenced today to five years in prison.

This marks the second time Robert Kent Peterson, 46, has been convicted of this kind of conduct.

After a 1999 conviction, he told his probation officer that he had broken into homes at least 40 times and masturbated in at least half of them. He also admitted to stealing his niece's panties.

Peterson was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to undergo mental health treatment after the 1999 conviction.

Jefferson County District Judge Jack Berryhill said today he couldn't take a chance on giving Peterson probation again because he wondered, "Am I only seeing the tip of the iceberg?"

In both of the new cases, Peterson is accused of breaking into the homes of single mothers with teenage daughters last year. When he was confronted, he said he was there to work on the plumbing.

A 15-year-old girl came home from school Jan. 13, 2006, to find Peterson in the bathroom, prosecutors said. The girl ran from the house and he left.

About three weeks later, on Feb. 3, 2006, a woman came home to find a man hiding in her daughter's closet. He said he was there to check the plumbing, but her daughter's underwear drawer was open and in disarray. The woman got his license plate number, leading to his arrest.

Peterson told police that he had been working on his car and went to the house to wash his hands.

Peterson, who worked for Lockheed Martin at the time of his arrest, moved on to a job building monster trucks.