Crystal Lake man who crawled through woman’s window, stole underwear receives 12-year prison sentence

A Crystal Lake man who was caught on video entering a woman’s home through her window and stealing her underwear was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday.

David L. Khollman, of the 1700 block of Crescent Avenue, Crystal Lake, said Wednesday that he was on drugs when he entered the woman’s Bayview Beach home clad in a dress and wig. He accepted a plea deal from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office Wednesday and pleaded guilty to a single count of residential burglary.

In exchange, McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt sentenced Khollman to 12 years in prison and prosecutors agreed to dismissed additional charges. Those charges, including criminal trespass to residence, disorderly conduct and theft, all were misdemeanors or lower-level felonies that likely would have carried a shorter sentence than residential burglary.

“I’m very sorry for what happened,” Khollman said in court Wednesday. “I overdosed on drugs. ... I feel very bad about what happened.”

The woman claimed in a letter read by prosecutors aloud in court Wednesday that Khollman had been illegally entering her home for months before she captured him on a surveillance camera, which she bought after noticing her belongings missing on several occasions.

“These events have changed my life. ... I live in constant fear that someone is always watching me,” the woman wrote. At the time of his October 2020 arrest, Khollman had been “terrorizing our community for 25 years,” she wrote.

Khollman’s criminal history in McHenry County shows a pattern of similar behavior dating back to 1994 when he was sentenced to probation for entering another woman’s home, records show.

In 2001, Khollman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for entering three Burtons Bridge homes and stealing the owners’ bras, Northwest Herald archives show.

During that trial, he also was convicted of breaking into a McHenry woman’s home, stealing three pairs of underwear and allegedly fondling the woman while she slept. McHenry County sheriff’s deputies also discovered a shopping bag filled with women’s underwear at a Wonder Lake home where Khollman allegedly was staying at the time.

Police again arrested Khollman after he was accused in 2017 of breaking into Fantasy Factory Romantic Boutique, 818 Front St., McHenry, and stealing items, including sex toys, clothing and DVDs. He was sentenced to four years in prison as a result and was out on mandatory supervised release – Illinois’ version of parole – at the time of his October 2020 arrest, records show.

More recently, in September 2020, Khollman was arrested weeks before the October burglary that landed him in prison. According to police, officers received a report of an unknown person who appeared to be wearing a dress and carrying a purse, walking through the yard and peering into a window at a Burtons Bridge home.

He’s scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 1 in connection with those allegations, which were filed as a separate misdemeanor case.

The woman whose home Khollman was most recently accused of entering, noted several additional instances which she inferred Khollman might have been connected to.

“[T]his certainly was a problem in that neighborhood,” Wilbrandt said.

The judge noted in court Wednesday that the Khollman’s actions were the result of an addiction to or abuse of drugs or alcohol, and recommended that he receive treatment in prison. Placement, however, ultimately is up to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Khollman will receive credit for nearly a year that he already has served in the McHenry County Jail awaiting trial. He additionally is required to pay $1,025 in restitution.