Union man admits to ‘peeping’ on two occasions into Woodstock homes

A Union man with a history of past violations admitted Thursday to “peeping” into the windows of unsuspecting women on two separate occasions last year in Woodstock and was sentenced to the maximum of three years in prison.

Dustin D. Hanabarger, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct/window peeping, Class 4 felonies.

Class 4 felonies typically can carry a sentencing range of one to three years in prison and also are probational.

He was sentenced to three years on each count to be served concurrently.

Hanabarger must serve at least 50% of his sentence and will receive credit for 47 days in the county jail and 302 days for time that he was out on bond and wearing an electronic monitor, McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis said.

He will be on six months of mandatory supervised release when he finishes his prison term.

One of his victims read a prepared impact statement in court telling Hanabarger that he caused her to live “in a state of worry and fear, especially at night.”

She said the incident caused her to move and spend hundreds of dollars in security and personal safety gear, such as security cameras and pepper spray.

The woman said she feels “sick to my stomach” each time she sees motion on her security camera.

“I often worry something like this will happen again,” she said, adding that he will never understand what he did to her. “(You) affected my life in more ways than you can understand. No one should ever have to feel unsafe in their own home, like I did.”

Crying, Hanabarger apologized for his actions and said he “was not right” at the time and has since gotten help.

The judge thanked him for his apology and for taking the plea deal and not making his victims go through a trial.

He pleaded guilty in two cases that occurred in Woodstock on June 29 and Sept. 16, 2022, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek and court documents.

At the time he committed these two acts, he was out on pre-trial bond for allegedly committing the same acts on Aug. 16, 2021, and Feb. 16, 2022. These two cases were dismissed in exchange for entering his guilty plea Thursday.

In 2011, Hanabarger was convicted on a Class A criminal misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for peering into the window of another Woodstock home, according to court documents.

In that case, he entered into a negotiated guilty plea, was given credit for days served in the county jail and sentenced to conditional discharge, according to court documents.

He also was convicted on a peeping charge in Lee County on Jan. 14, 2021, according to Lee County records.

After the hearing, Hanabarger’s attorney Jeffrey Altman said, “This was an unfortunate situation, not only for Dustin, but others who were affected by his conduct.”

“It is a circumstance that reinforces the need to make mental health resources more available to vulnerable members of our community,” Altman said.

Hanabarger still has a pending criminal misdemeanor cases for violating an order of protection, driving under the influence and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, court records show.