Doorbell camera captures man exposing himself outside Coconut Grove home

A 15-year-old girl’s disturbing discovery on her mum’s doorbell footage has sparked concern in a local Darwin neighbourhood, with a man’s troubling actions now under investigation. See the shocking footage.

A mother from Coconut Grove has shared her distress after discovering disturbing footage on her doorbell camera showing a man masturbating outside her home while possibly watching her from her window.

Missy Payne, who lives with her daughter Phoebe-Li, was horrified when her daughter found the footage from March 2, which appeared to show the man approaching her house shortly after she returned home from a night out.

Ms Payne said she and her daughter regularly checked the footage for any signs of trouble in the area, where crime has been a growing concern.

“We usually go through the footage every couple of weeks,” Ms Payne said.

“There’s been a bit of crime in the area.”

But nothing could have prepared them for what Phoebe-Li discovered.

A 15-year-old girl’s disturbing discovery on her mum’s doorbell footage has sparked concern in a local Darwin neighbourhood, with a man’s troubling actions now under investigation. Picture: Missy Payne / Supplied.

The footage showed Ms Payne returning home around 11.45pm, followed by a man — described as a large Islander-looking figure with two distinctive scars on his back — who approached the house shortly after.

In the footage, he can be seen peering through Ms Payne’s front door window before exposing himself.

“You can see him put his hand down his pants and start playing with himself, he then walks away, undresses at my neighbour’s house, then comes back with his T-shirt around his head and continues the disgusting behaviour.”

As if the situation wasn’t unsettling enough, Ms Payne recalled her dog barked shortly before she came to the door, and when she reviewed the footage, she noticed the man briefly tried to open her front door.

The man was described as a large Islander-looking figure with two distinctive scars on his back. Picture: Missy Payne / Supplied.

Concern for the community is mounting as others report similar incidents.

“A guy messaged me on Facebook, saying he’s pretty sure it was the same guy doing similar things at his house, but his kids were playing in the front yard at the time,” Ms Payne said.

“I’m a cleaner and I have a client in Alawa whose husband had to pick their kids up from the park because there was a public masturbator.”

While Ms Payne is unsure if it’s the same individual, she’s adamant about raising awareness.

“It’s something that shouldn’t happen … It’s becoming a regular occurrence, and I think by making the community aware, we can deter others from doing the same thing,” she said.

The incident has left her feeling violated.

“I hate to think if Phoebe-Li had been in the kitchen when this was happening,” Ms Payne said.

“She was in bed at the time, but it’s bad enough she had to see that footage.”

She’s now working with the police, who are investigating the case.

Acting Senior Sergeant Tim Healey said the behaviour in the footage was disgusting and the NT Police Force was investigating.

Anyone with information is urged to make contact with police on 131 444 and quote reference P25086027.

“I’ve been living here for two and a half years, and this is by far the worst thing we’ve had happen,” Ms Payne said.

“People sometimes come by looking for cigarette butts or going through the rubbish, but this? It’s just not right. I’m mortified.”

Originally published as Doorbell camera captures man exposing himself outside Coconut Grove home