A 28-year-old man was sentenced in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, for disturbing the peace. The man has been found guilty of entering the yards of his neighbors’ homes and smelling…their shoes. The bizarre event took place in the small town of Sindos, located about nine miles outside of Thessaloniki.
Disturbing the peace: Court sentences the defendant
The Thessaloniki court sentenced the defendant to one month in prison, suspended for three years, for the charge of disturbing the peace. The man is required to attend a treatment program as part of his sentencing.
The man was arrested earlier this month on October 8th following a complaint filed by his 40-year-old neighbor, who spotted him for the umpteenth time entering his yard for the purpose of smelling his family’s shoes. In fact, according to the complaint, the 28-year-old had also entered other yards on several occasions over the course of a six-month period for similar reasons.
Witness testimony: The investigation unfolds
As testified in court by the neighbor who had alerted the Greek police, he knew that the 28-year-old had been entering neighbors’ yards to smell their shoes and notified the police as soon as he saw him at it again.
“We leave our shoes at the front door and a neighbor informed me about what the accused had done.” said the neighbor. “I told her to talk to him because she knew him, but he denied everything. We were neighbors for over two years but I didn’t know him [pesonally].”
In his testimony, the witness added:
“After the summer, I had dogs in my garden to stop the accused. Then he didn’t do anything [but] just walked in front of the house and held his cell phone, not knowing if he was filming. As soon as I put the dogs inside in September, the neighbor informed me that he again entered my yard as well as theirs.
I made noise and went to the police. Among other things, they told me to call emergency services when I spotted him doing this…We caught him with the neighbor in the act. He didn’t show any aggressive behavior, [and] he immediately understood what he was doing [was suspicious].”
According to the neighbor who testified in court, the man who was caught in the act of smelling shoes was not aggressive when confronted. When he was asked why he does this, he simply responded: “Because it makes my life better.”
The witness said he wants to help him put a stop to this bizarre behavior and get help.
Acknowledgment of shame: The accused man’s statement
In his statement, the 28-year-old pled guilty to the accusation of entering yards and smelling shoes and expressed remorse. According to the man, he entered the yards of homes a total of three times to partake in the bizarre activity and had no explanation for his behavior.
“I do not know exactly how I came to do this act,” he said. “I feel very ashamed and disappointed in myself. I can’t explain it. I’m going to get help to see what’s going on and make sure it doesn’t get worse. I was working to help my parents and I stopped in the summer…At the same time, I am in a relationship, and a lot happened after the summer.”
Regarding the alleged incidents, the 28-year-old admitted to entering his neighbors’ yards. He stressed that he would never be of any danger.
