GREECE, OCT 25 – A 28-year-old man from Greece was recently found guilty of disturbing public order by repeatedly breaking in and sniffing his neighbors’ shoes.
The unnamed man was arrested on October 8 after one of his neighbors in Sindos, a small town about 15 kilometers west of Thessaloniki, saw him in their yard before dawn, sniffing shoes that were drying outside.
It was not the first time the man had trespassed on private property for strange purposes, prompting the neighbor to call the police. After hearing the 28-year-old man’s explanation and the testimony of one of the neighbors, the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court in Thessaloniki sentenced him to one month in prison, with three years of probation.
“As an individual, I don’t know how I can do this. I feel very ashamed and disappointed with myself. I can’t explain it. I will ask for support to understand what happened and not make things worse,” the man told the court, adding that he had trespassed on his neighbour’s property three times to smell their shoes for no apparent reason.
According to reports OddityCentralthe accused admitted his guilt and apologized for his actions, emphasizing that he never intended to hurt anyone. His neighbors confirmed that he never acted aggressively towards them, but they were still disturbed by his strange behavior.
“I felt angry and called the police,” said a neighbor who reported the incident in court.
“I was asked to call 911 when I saw him do that. I stayed awake for three days and as soon as I saw him in the morning, I immediately reported to the police and he was arrested. We caught him in the act. He did not show any aggressive behavior, he immediately understood what he was doing. When another neighbor asked why he did it, he replied, ‘because it makes my life better’. I just want to help him and stop this act.”
The 60-year-old neighbor who complained about the young man’s strange behavior in court said that he had seen the accused three times in their area, adding that other neighbors had also caught him sniffing their shoes in the past six months.
“I know this is some kind of illness and I will do everything to get well,” the man told the police officer who arrested him. – Agency