Chattanooga man filmed wearing women's underwear after stealing house key

A Chattanooga man will spend 15 years in the Georgia Department of Corrections after stealing a house key to pleasure himself with a victim’s pairs of underwear after she rejected his advances for years.

Ruben Santos, 40, was convicted of first-degree burglary by a Catoosa County jury.

Court documents presented during the trial showed Santos was a longtime family friend of the victim, a 25-year-old woman. For years, Santos tried to establish a relationship with the victim, but was rejected.

In July 2023, Santos stole the key to the victim’s mother’s house, where the victim lived. The victim noticed clothes in his room were out of place and became suspicious.

The victim then installed a surveillance camera in his room. When she arrived at work, she was informed that a person had been detected in her room.

The camera feed showed Santos entering his bedroom and gathering several pairs of underwear, placing them over his face and mouth. He then left with two pairs of the victim’s underwear in his pocket.

The Catoosa County jury was shown video of Santos in the victim’s bedroom.

Santos was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the first 15 years served in the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Upon his release, Santos will be required to comply with the conditions of sex offender probation.

“The home should be a sanctuary from the outside world,” said prosecutor Clayton M. Fuller. “This vine violated that sanctity in the most despicable way, and ADA Reisman and his team found a new home for it to spend time in prison.”