What did Calese Crowder do? Criminal history explored as suspect dubbed Barnes & Noble “sniffer” released from jail

Calese Crowder, a 37-year-old man from Los Angeles, was arrested for the second time in the same week on August 17, 2023. He has been identified as the same man who was seen lurking near multiple women in Burbank in a viral TikTok video from August 7, 2023. In the video, Calese Crowder can be seen being close to the legs of Michaela Witter, a 28-year-old woman at a Barnes & Noble shop.

Calese Crowder was arrested on August 11, 2023 due to an unrelated incident involving the man peeing at children and a family inside a home. On August 15, 2023, Crowder pleaded no-contest to the charges, admitting that he enjoyed watching women and to being caught pleasuring himself which watching a woman in the past. He was sentenced to prison, but was released allegedly due to overcrowding. He was arrested again on August 18, 2023 due to his failure to register as a s*x offender. However, he has been released again.

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Calese Crowder was released from prison due to lack of evidence for a case against him

George Gascon, Los Angeles District Attorney, has said that his office will not be pursuing charges against Calese Crowder for his failure to register as a s*x offender. In a statement, Gascons said charges cannot be pursued due to a legal technicality that involed providing notice regarding specific registration requirements. In his words:

"Glendale Police Department arrested Crowder yesterday on a misdemeanor charge of failing to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290...After careful review of the evidence, the office was unable to file any charges due to insufficient evidence as to the notice requirement.”

The incident involving Crowder shown in the TikTok video is currently under investigation by the Burbank Police Department. Gascon went on to add that he is aware of the viral TikTok video that shows Crowder’s indecent actions. However, at the moment, no case is being pursued against him. This is despite the fact that Calese Crowder has a long criminal history involving indecent actions. When Crowder was arrested last, it was the 44rd time he has been arrested in the Los Angeles County since 2005.

Crowder’s victim, Michaela Witter, has said in a statement that she remains skeptical whether any action will be taken against him. Expressing her dismay at his release, she said that she believes that authorities are responsible for any future offences that Crowder may commit due to their inaction. In her words:

"I'm relieved that he was arrested again, but I, unfortunately, don't have high expectations with him being kept there for long…I've talked with others who were affected by Calese Crowder, who suffer from PTSD because of him, don't feel safe going out because of him, and I want to know why the justice system isn't taking this as seriously as it is… This has been happening for over 13 years, so they either need to get him serious help by keeping him in a facility that will do that or keeping him in jail where he can't harm anyone else."

As of the time of writing of this article, no case is being pursued against Calese Crowder, and he remains out of custody.