Gordon Schumacher accused of sneaking into neighbor's house, putting webcam in bedroom

Big pic below.

Erie's Nicole Bernard never gave much thought to her neighbor, Gordon Schumacher, and no wonder. He's 35, married, seemingly ordinary in every respect.

Until he allegedly snuck into her house and planted a webcam in her bedroom, prompting his arrest for being a high-tech peeping tom.

Bernard reportedly discovered the webcam under her computer late last month and promptly called police -- since she had no idea if someone was eyeballing her at that very moment.

Nicole Bernard.

The cops came and took the device away, but she was still so freaked out that she packed up her beloved dog -- and a knife -- and spent the night trying (and mostly failing) to sleep in a nearby parking lot.

She was even more unnerved when Schumacher subsequently showed up at her door and shakily confessed to slipping into her home and hooking up the webcam.

Her reaction was natural: She started screaming at him that his actions were a cry for help. He agreed, she says, admitting that he had a problem and maintaining that he hadn't done anything like this "in a really long time."

How reassuring.

By the way, Bernard thinks Schumacher got into her place through a door she'd left unlocked, so sure was she that doing so in a small town like Erie would be safe. She later heard from another neighbor that he'd seen Schumacher coming out her front door. But he just figured Bernard had asked him to look after her dog -- instead of allegedly acting like a dog himself.

The Weld County District Attorney's Office has formally charged Schumacher with second-degree burglary and attempted sexual contact. He's out of jail after posting a $25,000 bond -- no doubt a creepy thought for a certain neighbor...

Here's a CBS4 piece about the case, along with a larger look at Schumacher's mug shot.

Gordon Schumacher.

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