WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A 32-year-old New Hampshire man who admitted to repeatedly peeping into a Wilder woman’s bathroom and bedroom will avoid jail time if he abides by probation conditions that a judge put in place during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
Robert Black, who used to live near the victim but now lives in Wolfeboro, N.H., pleaded guilty in May to one count of stalking and three counts of attempted voyeurism, all misdemeanors. He initially faced more than a dozen charges, including a felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct, from incidents in the spring of 2017.
Windsor County Deputy State’s Attorney Heidi Remick asked Judge Elizabeth Mann to sentence Black to serve one year of a two- to five-year sentence in jail, but Mann sided with defense attorney Robert Lees, who pushed for a fully suspended sentence.
Mann said the sentence structure, which calls for a fully suspended two- to five-year sentence with five years of probation, is appropriate and sends a message to Black and the community that this type of behavior won’t be tolerated.
“This is a significant sentence,” Mann said, adding that if Black violates one of his many probation conditions he could be sent to prison.
Meanwhile, Black has since told a treatment provider that he has spied on as many as 50 women over more than a decade, according to Remick and John Holt, a licensed psychologist who evaluated Black and took the stand during the hearing.
Black’s victim in the Windsor Superior Court case spoke at the outset of the hearing and said she wanted to see him held accountable for his actions. Black violated her privacy and caused her to feel uncomfortable in her own home, she told the judge.
“It has caused significant harm to me,” the woman said. She alleged he had been viewing her beginning in 2013. “For four years this man lurked outside my home.”
She wished to represent his “many victims.” The woman lives in the Hemlock Ridge neighborhood, and Black used to live nearby on Barrister Drive. He now lives with his parents in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region.
Black, who is actively engaged in treatment and counseling, expressed remorse for his actions, saying he is “deeply sorry,” “embarrassed” and understands the seriousness of his actions.
“I hope that somehow she is able to find closure,” Black said. “I will use this experience as motivation to continue to better myself and live a responsible life.”
Holt, the psychologist, who works with Vermont Forensic Assessments, said his assessment showed Black was at above-average risk to re-offend. Because that is the case, Remick said Black was ineligible for a short-term treatment program in the jail. The parties had agreed to a capped sentence of no more than a year in jail, but Black wouldn’t have been able to complete the designated sex offender-related treatment while incarcerated as that program runs longer than a year.
That factored into the judge’s decision.
“Incarceration will instead stop the treatment that is ongoing,” Mann said, and potentially “unravel progress that has been made.”
The safety of the public is best addressed through continued rehabilitation, she added.
Some of Black’s conditions of release include no alcohol consumption and no contact with the victim. Several others are left up to his probation officer, such as whether he can use a device that has recording capabilities or whether he should wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Black initially faced 13 charges, including a felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct, alleging he masturbated while looking into the woman’s windows. Prosecutors later dismissed that charge.
Prosecutors charged Black in August 2017 after the woman came forward earlier that year and told police she had surveillance footage of a man peering into her windows, sometimes drinking alcohol, according to an affidavit in the case.
Police tracked Black down by calling the landscaping company printed on his sweatshirt in the footage. A manager at the company, which has branches including ones in Woodstock, Enfield and Meredith, N.H., then confirmed Black’s identity.
Black told an investigating officer that he had a problem with voyeurism and that he went to counseling for it several years ago, according to an affidavit in the case. In 2013, Black faced criminal charges for similar conduct in New Hampshire, Remick said.
Vermont officers worried there may have been additional victims, but Remick previously said investigators weren’t able to identify any others.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.