CPN peeping tom captured by cops

After an extensive investigation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department arrested a man in connection with a recent string of disturbances in and around the bathrooms of the all-girl floors of Cather Residence Hall.

On Feb. 26, UNLPD arrested 29-year-old Timothy Bottolfson of Grand Island on three counts of trespassing and two counts of disturbing the peace. He was taken to Lancaster County Corrections, where he was later released.

Police were investigating "three cases in which an unidentified white male gained entry to residence halls on city campus," said Asst. Chief Carl Oestmann in a statement.

Police began receiving reports of a "peeping tom" in Cather in early February.
In two of the cases, Oestmann said, Bottolfson entered an all-female bathroom and watched while residents showered.

The reports came from "various floors" of the residence hall, he said.

"(UNLPD) was able to obtain some information from videos and given by students," Oestmann said. "There was a lot of good work done by the officers who worked the case."

Anna Ripa, a freshman broadcasting major, said she was one of the girls who was watched. She was taking a shower a few weeks ago when she noticed a hand tapping on her shower in the girls bathroom.

"I thought it was kind of weird. And I was like ‘it's probably just a girl seeing if there is someone in the shower because they wanted to use it.' Well a couple of minutes pass, he does it again. I'm like OK this is really creeping me out," Ripa said.

After the first taps on the curtain, Ripa there was someone in the bathroom other than a girl. She opened the curtain and saw a man standing a few inches away.

"My whole body just dropped," she said. "I shut the curtain and I'm sitting in the shower. I started shaking, thinking. I didn't scream, I didn't yell. I just shut my curtain and I was scared and didn't know what to do."

Bottolfson had been arrested twice before, once in 2002 for felony theft and again in 2005 for misdemeanor third degree assault and felony burglary. He was released on discretionary parole for his two to three year sentence for the latter.

UNL Housing Director Doug Zatechka is ready to move on.

"(The disturbances) are terrible," Zatechka said. "I think it's great that the police have made this arrest."

Zatechka said this was not the first time these types of disturbances have occurred but added they are "not common."

He said 100 percent security cannot be guaranteed, but Cather-Pound-Neihardt has gotten a good start on increasing their security measures.

"The students have already voted to keep the doors locked (24/7)," he said.

"The biggest thing is if students see somebody wandering around to get a hold of the reception desk; get a hold of the police; get a hold of somebody."

When recalling the incident Ripa said, "I seriously thought I was going to get raped that night. I was so scared. I thought this would never happen to me. And some guy is in my shower."

Oestmann said overall he was happy with the results of the case.

"This was an important case for us," Oestmann said. "We were able to clean this up and were happy to bring this to the correct conclusion."

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