The Dangerous Side of 'Silly' Crimes

July 15, 2004 -- -- Despite the initial snickers it may spark, underwear theft is no laughing matter — and could be a harbinger of more sinister crimes.

Police in Corvallis, Ore., say underwear theft is one of the main reasons they consider Sung Koo Kim a person of interest in the disappearance of Brigham Young University student Brooke Wilberger. Wilberger, 19, was last seen May 24 at a Corvallis apartment complex her sister manages.

Kim, 30, is accused of stealing women's underwear from three different Portland-area college dormitories or laundry rooms, including an April burglary at Oregon State University's Sacket Hall — which is near the site where Wilberger was last seen. Police who searched Kim's home said they found more than 3,000 pairs of women's panties and recovered dryer lint that was traced to Wilberger's sister's apartment complex.

Kim has not been charged in the Wilberger case. He has pleaded not guilty to burglary charges in the alleged underwear raids. His lawyer has said that there is evidence that places him away from Corvallis on the day Wilberger disappeared, but police say they cannot verify the alibi.

If investigators had never identified him as a potential suspect, his alleged panty pilfering may have been a candidate for local newspapers' weird crime columns. But experts say fetish crimes — such as sock stealing and underwear theft — can be a warning sign that a suspect is capable of more dangerous crimes.

"One of the things it could indicate is that the person is working their way toward rape of a real person," said criminal profiler Pat Brown, CEO of the Pat Brown Criminal Profiling Agency. "By sneaking into someone's place, they're showing that they can invade their territory. What that person is showing the other person is that he has no problem invading her space.

"Taking someone's underwear does two things," Brown said. "It shows that you were there and that you're taking a souvenir of your accomplishment. He is getting as near to the person's skin, so to speak, as he can possibly get."