However, the truth was different.
Bruce Donald Saxton (54) was found guilty of burglary following a judge-alone trial at the Dunedin District Court yesterday - ``peeping-Tom activities'', Judge Thomas Ingram called it.
He was acquitted on another charge.
When police arrested Saxton on February 18, they asked him why he was strolling the north of the city about 11pm.
The defendant told them he had been working late and felt guilty because had eaten takeaways having recently enrolled with Jenny Craig.
Judge Ingram said Saxton's explanation was ``highly questionable''.
The fact officers found a police scanner in the man's car that night added weight to their case, the judge said.
The court heard Saxton was seen lurking outside a student flat in Ethel Benjamin Pl on February 18.
A resident said she was out on her third-floor balcony and noticed a man lingering below.
When she returned 10 minutes later, he was still there, she told the court.
``He was hanging around near the bedroom window,'' the resident said.
When she saw the flash of a camera go off twice as he held open a curtain, she called her partner and they alerted police shortly afterwards, the court heard.
``He was there until police came then he ran through the bushes.''
Constable Bryce Johnson, who was working nearby at the time of the call, said he caught a glimpse of a person fitting the description as he arrived on the scene.
He pursued the man across a lawn and through a car park to Emily Siedeberg Pl where he saw Saxton ``walking quickly''.
``His demeanour suggested to me he was in a hurry to get away,'' Const Johnson said.
Saxton, the court heard, got into his Mitsubishi vehicle and had the engine running when the officer opened the door and stopped him.
``He was sweating heavily. I could see beads of sweat on his brow,'' Const Johnson said.
He asked Saxton what he was doing.
The defendant replied he had been working in the area and had gone for a walk because the streets there were nice and flat.
About 11.20pm, Saxton was arrested. He refused to comment on the allegations that night.
There was nothing incriminating found on the man's phone.
Officers found a police scanner in Saxton's glove box tuned to the Dunedin police channel.
Police knew of another peeping-Tom incident three weeks earlier on that street.
A student gave evidence she had just come out of the shower when she heard footsteps outside her room on January 29.
She opened the curtains and was confronted with a man holding on to her window sill.
``He kind of just stared for a bit and then walked off quite normally,'' she said.
The student described the peeper as ``quite chubby'', with stubble, a receding hairline and ``intense dark eye bags''.
``The face is quite etched in my memory,'' she said.
However, when police showed her a photo montage three weeks later, she was initially unable to pick out Saxton.
Judge Ingram said the evidence was not sufficiently reliable for a conviction.
``Mistaken identification can result in a serious miscarriage of justice,'' he said.
Saxton was yesterday sentenced to 80 hours' community work and 12 months' supervision.
Judge Ingram noted the defendant had a previous similar conviction from 12 years ago.
