HPD Peeping Tom
avoids jail time
with deferred plea

---

By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

An off-duty police lieutenant caught peeping at a woman in the bedroom of her Hawaii Kai home will not serve time in jail.

Lt. Craig Clissold, 55, a 29-year Honolulu Police Department veteran, was sentenced yesterday to a one-year term similar to probation, with certain conditions.

He pleaded no contest in August to one count of invasion of privacy, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

Although the state had requested 30 days in jail, District Judge Tenney Tongg agreed that while Clissold's conduct was serious, particularly because he was a police officer, and had caused great distress to the victim, it was his first criminal offense.

The judge granted Clissold's request to defer his plea, enabling him to erase the conviction from his record if he abides by the court's conditions.

Clissold was ordered, however, to undergo a mental health assessment. He must also complete 200 hours of community service and make restitution in an amount to be determined at a later hearing.

Clissold was also ordered to stay away from the woman's Kalanipuu Street home. Specifically, he cannot be within a 2,000-foot radius of the home between a half-hour before sunset and a half-hour after sunrise.

The victim, a flight attendant, has not been able to return to work. "No label can aptly describe the victim's life since this incident -- the fear, anxiety and apprehension that she has lived with, the embarrassment and public humility that this case has brought upon herself and her family," said Deputy Prosecutor Christine Denton.

The victim no longer feels safe being by herself or in her own bedroom and is undergoing therapy, Denton said.

Clissold was arrested July 31 after police officers checking the neighborhood with flashlights spotted him walking briskly from the home.

Clissold, who lives seven doors away, allegedly claimed he had been taking a walk and had just been relieving himself. But a witness identified him as being in the woman's yard and watching her through her louvered bedroom window just before 1 a.m.

Clissold took an oath to serve and protect and should have known that his behavior was not only inappropriate, but deviant, Denton said.

Clissold understands what he has done and is very sorry for what he has put the woman and her family through, said his attorney, Richard Hoke.

Clissold, who is currently undergoing therapy, has been diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, and the incident occurred while he was experiencing a lot of stress at home and on the job, Hoke said.

The treating psychologist indicated, however, that Clissold is not likely to "act out" further, Hoke said.

Since his arrest, Clissold, who was assigned to the Kaneohe District, has been reassigned to nonpatrol duties and has yet to go before the department's internal review board to determine if he faces any administrative sanctions.