28-year-old Greek Man Arrested For Breaking Into House To Smell Shoes

In an unusual case from Greece, a 28-year-old man was sentenced to one month in jail and ordered to undergo therapy for his peculiar behaviour- sneaking into his neighbour’s home to smell their shoes. According to a report by the New York Post, the man, who lives in Thessaloniki, displayed signs of what is commonly referred to as a foot fetish. This is a condition in which a person derives a form of pleasure or arousal from feet or shoes. His behaviour, while seemingly harmless, alarmed his neighbours and eventually landed him in legal trouble.

The incident that led to his arrest took place on October 8 in Sindos, a town in Northern Greece. Early that morning, the man was caught by his neighbours sniffing shoes that had been left outside the house to air out. While his actions might seem bizarre, they weren’t entirely new to his neighbours. This was the third time in six months that he had been caught engaging in this strange behaviour. Each time, instead of breaking in to steal or cause damage, the man would enter homes for the sole purpose of smelling shoes, which left his neighbours confused and concerned.

Despite these incidents, the neighbours mentioned that the man had never exhibited any violent or harmful tendencies toward them. However, his repeated behaviour became an issue, prompting them to involve the authorities after attempts to get his family to intervene proved unsuccessful. His family, according to reports, had been aware of his odd habit but had seemingly been unable to stop him from indulging in it.

When the case went to court, the man openly admitted that he didn’t fully understand why he was drawn to shoes in this way. He expressed that this compulsive behaviour had caused him embarrassment on many occasions, and he had no intention of harming anyone. His fetish, categorized as a psychological condition where someone is intensely attracted to feet or objects related to feet, had become an issue beyond his control. The Thessaloniki court, still deemed it necessary to impose both a jail sentence and mandatory therapy.