Peeping Tom of Greenport on the loose according to residents

GREENPORT, Long Island (WABC) -- A peeping Tom is prowling neighborhoods on Long Island's east end.

The creepy man has been staring into bedroom windows and opening window screens in Greenport.

Neighbors believe they know who the peeping Tom is and think he lurks close by.

No one Eyewitness News spoke to wanted to be identified because they fear for their family's safety.

"I was on the computer and I heard breathing in my ear. It makes you pause for a minute and it makes you freeze with terror," a resident said. "I quickly moved the curtains away and a figure ran off."

A woman described to us her horrific encounter with the man known as the peeping Tom of Greenport.

"People are calling this guy a peeping tom and a voyeur, which makes it sound like a 10-year-old school boy," a resident said.

"No one knows the next thing he's going to do. I feel like the police are waiting for him to rape someone, child molestation. I don't want to find out," a resident said.

The man seems to focus on a two block area of Greenport around 2nd Street.

He typically goes to homes where women live alone or when they're home alone at the time.

Residents have been forced to install surveillance cameras and flood lights around their houses.

Husbands fear leaving their wives and children alone at night.

"What motivates a peeping Tom? He's not checking out your Legos. He's motivated by something ferocious. It's ill for the community," a resident said.

The problem is no one's been able to get a good look at the guy.

Without a description, Southold Police say there's not much they can do.

The Mayor of Greenport told Eyewitness News, "The police are doing as much as they can. They need something more to go on to arrest someone."

Residents say they would like to have an officer dedicated to patrol the area at night.

Southold police say they simply don't have the manpower to do that.

"When I speak to the cops, I tell them, 'I need you to patrol because I need you to prevent the crime of one of us homeowners protecting our property,' because that's what it's going to come to. Someone making a defensive measure which is going to cause someone to get hurt," a resident said.