Mark J. Semkiw - Repeat Sex Offender - Becomes Peeping Tom

A man who served 19 years in a Michigan prison for burglary and two counts of criminal sexual conduct was accused of peeping into a Galveston woman’s window, authorities said Wednesday.

Mark J. Semkiw, 47, was charged with disorderly conduct, stemming from a 10:30 p.m. Tuesday incident in the 4000 block of Avenue S1/2, Galveston police spokesman Lt. D.J. Alvarez said. Semkiw remained jailed Wednesday on the misdemeanor disorderly conduct-Peeping Tom charge that has a $500 bond.

A 23-year-old island resident told The Daily News she saw Semkiw looking through her window.

She said she feels scared and violated, and she is no longer staying at her rental home, which is about two blocks from Semkiw’s house.

The woman told The Daily News she was watching some loud teens parked next to her house.

They were eating fast food, and when they left she looked out the window and saw a man.

The woman called 911, and off-duty detective Fred Paige, who was working another job nearby, detained Semkiw until a patrolman arrived, Alvarez said.

Semkiw has a history of recidivism. He was sentenced March 31, 1987, on a count of breaking and entering with intent and first-degree criminal sexual contact, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.

Semkiw was discharged Oct. 10, 2003, but returned to prison March 23, 2004, on another charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is defined by Michigan’s penal code as sexual penetration.

Attempts to reach Dearborn, Mich., police and the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office for comment weren’t successful.

It is unclear when Semkiw moved to Galveston.

He first registered as a sex offender with Galveston police March 3 but changed his status July 13, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s sex offender Web site.

The address listed for Semkiw on July 13 is an apartment in the 1700 block of 38th Street.

The Galveston police report released Wednesday, however, listed Semkiw’s address as in the 4200 block of Avenue T.

Semkiw works for the International Longshoremen’s Association in Galveston as a casual laborer, Ted O’Rourke, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local No. 20, said.

Transportation Worker Identification Credentials are mandatory to work at the port and are issued after a background check through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The credential is designed to keep the port safe from terrorists, O’Rourke said.

Semkiw will be in the Galveston County Jail until Saturday unless he pays his $500 fine on the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, Alvarez said.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte