Peeping Tom Denied Security Clearance Reinstatement

A Department of Energy (DOE) contractor had his security clearance suspended by the local security office due to concerns related to sexual and criminal conduct after he reported he had been arrested and charged with engaging in lewd conduct, peeking, and invasion of privacy. After an administrative review, the decision was made to revoke clearance eligibility, and he was issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) to Deny. The contractor subsequently appealed to DOE Office of Hearing and Appeals. Here are the highlights of the case.

In his response to the LOI, the contractor asserted he was arrested because his neighbors had a grudge and falsely accused him of peeping into a neighbor’s window while he was outside naked and fondling himself. He claimed to have just woken up at 2:00 am two nights in a row and had opened and stepped out his door for 15-30 seconds and then went back inside. He said he had no idea that anyone was awake or around at that time of the night and didn’t intentionally expose himself or peek into any window.

However, putting his claims into doubt was the fact that he agreed with the judge presiding over his court case to enter into a pre-trial diversion program in which he was required to stay 100 feet away from the place where the incident took place, complete 20 hours of community service, and complete 6 individual counseling sessions. There were other discrepancies in his accounting of what happened which cast further doubt on his credibility with the judge. The fact that the contractor was not being totally forthright and honest about the incident indicates that his judgement and reliability were still suspect – eligibility denied.