Landlord’s sentence: house arrest, probation

Found guilty of criminal mischief and trespass after masturbating in his female tenant’s bedroom, landlord Thomas Fallon was sentenced Tuesday to six months of house arrest followed by six months of probation. He was acquitted of burglary.

The verdict, given by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski, came nearly a week after Mr. Fallon, owner of Fallon Electric Co., had a nonjury trial.

Mr. Fallon went to the woman’s Castle Shannon apartment to fix a water heater on Dec. 1, 2017, according to a criminal complaint. During the trial, Mr. Fallon said he walked around the apartment to make sure there were no other problems and noticed underwear lying around his femaletenant’s bedroom.

About 10:23 a.m., the tenant, who had installed security cameras after suspecting someone had been going through her clothes a few months earlier, received a notification on her phone about movement in her bedroom, according to the criminal complaint.

She contacted the police shortly thereafter, providing them with still photos of the offender masturbating in her bedroom.

In a voluntary interview with police, Mr. Fallon initially denied entering the bedroom but confessed after he was shown the photos, the complaint said.

Mr. Fallon was charged with burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief.

During the trial, Mr. Fallon said he was being treated by a psychiatrist for “impulsivity,” which caused his behavior. He said he did not enter the apartment with the aim of pleasuring himself.

His attorney, Robert G. Del Greco Jr., said his client should not be found guilty of criminal trespass or mischief, since he had a legitimate purpose for entering the apartment — to fix the hot water tank — and did not do any physical damage to the victim’s property.

Assistant District Attorney Todd Williams said the absence of physical damage did not matter because the victim still had to get rid of her clothes, and he said Mr. Fallon had no legitimate reason for entering the bedroom.

Mr. Del Greco could not immediately be reached for comment. The District Attorney’s office declined to comment on the verdict.