South Lyon City Councilwoman claims councilman spied on her inside home

SOUTH LYON, Mich. (FOX 2) - A South Lyon City Councilwoman says a fellow official has been spying on her while she is at home.

Trustee Mary Parisien has filed a personal protection order claiming that Councilman Carl Richards has bragged publicly about looking into the windows of her house. 

At a recent council meeting she read a prepared statement saying that Richards was at a local store talking about peeping into the house.

"Carl proceeded to describe my home in detail," Parisien said. "He made a series of grossly inappropriate comments about my person, my body, and discriminating comments regarding those in the LGTBQ community.

"Carl made national headlines this past January for his inappropriate behavior. He is old enough to be my grandfather.

"Anything that has to do with me sexually is grossly inappropriate as an individual but also as a councilmember. We are held to higher standards."

As a result of the PPO, Richards attends South Lyon council meetings by sitting off in a corner to not violate the distance requirement for Parisien.

"Harassing a fellow councilmember by peering into my home and visiting local businesses in our community to spread malicious lies is uncalled for, unprofessional and reflects poorly on our community."

FOX 2: "Is this an embarrassment to South Lyon?"

"Well the city is going to continue to operate as we normally do," said Paul Zelenak, South Lyon city manager. "Anytime the city or anybody gets into the news regarding the city obviously that is publicized and we are going to continue to do what we do in the city."

The council voted to have it's board of ethics review the case. The PPO is good for a year, and they still can't rule out any criminal charges.

FOX 2 contacted Councilman Richards but received no comment.