A California man dubbed the “butt sniffer,” who has been arrested more than 40 times, is set to be released again after receiving a 170-day jail sentence for his latest parole violation, renewing concerns over his repeated encounters with women and frequent returns to custody.
Calese Crowder, 39, was taken into custody on Aug. 28 after Glendale police said they received complaints about a man behaving suspiciously and allegedly moving close to customers to smell them inside several businesses.
On Tuesday, Crowder was sentenced to 170 days in Los Angeles County jail, with 12 days already credited as time served. After his release, he is expected to be placed back on parole.
The case has intensified anger among residents and tough-on-crime advocates, who say the outcome reflects a revolving-door justice system and argue that California’s more lenient criminal justice policies have failed to keep a repeat offender away from the public.
According to the Glendale Police Department, officers were called around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 28 to a store in the 1500 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard after witnesses reported a man crouching or “hunkered down” while getting unusually close to people and attempting to smell them.
Officers were also dispatched to a Marshalls near South Brand Boulevard and East Broadway following a similar report.
Crowder was eventually located in the 100 block of South Brand Boulevard and arrested on suspicion of violating his parole.
He was also ordered to stay away from Marshalls, Home Goods and Big Save in Glendale.
Critics say the sentence is merely the latest turn of a revolving door that has done little to stop the alleged behavior.
Crowder served 99 days in late 2025, 105 days in 2026 and now 170 days.
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Crowder, a registered sex offender, has a history of similar alleged offenses in Glendale and Burbank dating back to 2021.
He was arrested twice in two months last summer and admitted violating his parole last year, when he was sentenced to more than 100 days in jail.
In 2023, he was arrested for allegedly peeping into a family’s Glendale home.
That August, a woman posted a TikTok video that went viral, allegedly showing Crowder crouching behind her and attempting to sniff her at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Burbank.
His more than 40 arrests include burglary, robbery, and indecent exposure, and critics say the record demonstrates that California’s lax approach to crime is not doing enough to keep habitual offenders behind bars.
They blame measures including Proposition 47 and Proposition 57, arguing that the laws downgraded many nonviolent property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and made early release easier.
Parole rules are another flashpoint.
Jail time for a specific parole violation is legally capped, often at 180 days per violation.
Critics argue that a registered sex offender who repeatedly violates conditions intended to keep him away from women should face far more serious consequences.
Some residents fear the behavior could eventually escalate into physical or violent sexual assaults if Crowder is not kept off the streets.
“He needs to be put away for good,” wrote Candice Horry, the wife of former Los Angeles Lakers star Robert Horry, in a social media post.