Crystal Lake, Illinois neighbors furious after Airbnb guest is caught in lewd act outside
The residents of a quiet neighborhood in Crystal Lake, Illinois northwest of Chicago were subjected to a shocking surprise recently.
They said they looked out their window to see the Airbnb guests next door brought more than luggage. A man staying on the property was caught in a lewd act.
It has now all raised questions about the actions of short-term guests in residential areas.
Lynette McClain said she spotted the man while looking out her kitchen window toward the pool in the yard next door.
"I was here, and just directly, like I saw him facing this way, in action — his whole body," said Lynette McClain.
McClain had just come to her home on her quiet street in Crystal Lake when something caught her eye out of that kitchen window on a Saturday afternoon.
"I just shouted, 'Oh my God, he's naked!'" said McClain.
McClain snapped one photo, showing an adult man — not only completely naked, but in the middle of a lewd act on the steps of the pool with his phone in his other hand. McClain said the man moved around the backyard for more than 10 minutes.
"It's traumatizing to see something like that, and then my daughter to see something like that," said McClain. "So yeah, it wasn't something I expected to see."
McClain's husband is now calling for action.
"You know, when you have a child that's seeing things like this, that's the last thing you ever want your child to deal with," said Lynette McClain's husband, Antijuan McClain. "I was very upset. I immediately called the cops."
Police came over, investigated, and filed a police report — though no charges were issued.
Antijuan McClain said officers told him that the Airbnb guest said he did not realize anyone could see him, and also told officers the listing said it was a "secluded backyard."
When CBS News Chicago reached out to the City of Crystal Lake, they said it is still an ongoing investigation, and they couldn't say any more.
The property owner said the incident "does not follow house rules," and they "have since reported it to Airbnb and they are investigating the incident."
Airbnb released a statement reading, "The reported behavior has no place on our platform, and we have suspended the guest's account as we investigate."
Meanwhile, the listing photos do show neighboring windows are visible from the backyard where the man was spotted.
The McClains say they don't have a problem with the Airbnb next door — they just want to make sure there isn't a next time for what they witnessed.
"Laws need to be changed. This is unfortunate something like this happened, or it happens again, and you can't deal with it," said Antijuan McClain. "Who wants to deal with something like this?"
As for the apology the man offered to police in which he said he didn't realize anyone could see him, Lynette McClain is not having it.
"I don't believe that — just because you can see that there's windows here," she said. "I'm sure he looked this way. He was facing directly this way."
Airbnb also said it encourages neighbors to use its our Neighborhood Support Line to speak directly to Airbnb with concerns about properties or guest behavior.