A Penn State professor was arrested after he allegedly watched a family he did not know through the windows of their Patton Township residence on multiple occasions.

Anoop Narayanan, 50, of Port Matilda, is charged with misdemeanor counts of stalking and loitering and prowling at night.

A man reported at about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday that a person later identified as Narayanan had been lurking outside his family’s Toftrees apartment. The caller previously reported setting up a camera out of concern for his family’s safety because Narayanan had come to their residence several times and caused them emotional distress, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Patton Township police.

Video showed Narayanan “crouching and sitting outside the caller’s window, slowly approaching appearing to avoid setting off a motion-activated light,” police wrote. The man then confronted Narayanan, who was on the scene when police arrived.

Narayanan told an officer that he did not live in the complex but liked to go there for walks, according to the affidavit. When informed of the video and that he was being arrested, Narayanan asked to apologize to the man while in custody, police wrote.

During the apology, Narayanan admitted to coming to the apartment and watching the family, including a young child, three or four times, according to the affidavit.

The man reported similar incidents to police on April 25 and June 8 and said he did not report several others.

Narayanan, a research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, was arraigned on Monday by District Judge Gregory Koehle, who denied bail.

A Penn State spokesperson said the university is aware of the charges but could not comment further on a personnel matter.

Narayanan’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 25.

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