NJ high school athletic director accused of peeping in bedroom of young female neighbor

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A New Jersey high school athletic director is on administrative leave after he was accused of peeping in the bedroom window of a young female neighbor.

Winfield “Tripp” Becker, 48, of Cabin Run Road in Pipersville, has been charged with loitering and prowling at night, and summary harassment.

According to charging documents, a family in Becker’s neighborhood installed a camera outside their home after someone kept knocking on their daughter’s bedroom window and running away.

That homeowner told police that around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6, the camera showed a man outside her daughter’s window, and she identified that man as Becker.

Becker is the athletic director at Hopewell Valley Regional School District in Mercer County, New Jersey. The district said Becker is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the charges after he self-reported it to the district. The district said it will cooperate with law enforcement, but at this time no allegations against Becker involve Hopewell Valley students.

Becker is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 8.

Becker’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment

When requesting publicly available documents, including the affidavit of probable cause, Magisterial District Judge Gary Gambardella sidestepped policy and refused to send it by email.

Gambardella said in an email that he does not see how this case “would be considered newsworthy by any media outlet.” While it is outside his authority to do so, he determined he was treating it as “a non-media case,” making it only available for in-person pickup requiring ID and a $10 fee.

Magisterial district judges’ offices are instructed to email all publicly available documents by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Outside very rare circumstances, Magisterial District Courts cannot make a determination to seal documents. Only higher courts, such as the Bucks County Courts of Common Pleas, have that authority.

Gambardella has not replied to a request for clarification on his stance on why he believes the case is not newsworthy.