Police in Brazil have arrested a man for stealing knickers from a couple’s clothesline for nine months and returning them stained with semen.

The sick act was discovered when the woman’s husband installed security cameras around their property to find out who had been taking his wife’s underwear.

A security camera caught a 39-year-old man red-handed as he stole a pair of briefs from the line in the couple’s back garden in Uruacu, Goias state.

The couple showed the footage to police, who identified the suspect and searched his home on Friday, 5th August.

The Civil Police did not release his name.

The man was questioned and reportedly admitted to having stolen the garments.

Police spokesman Fernando Martins said: “He would enter through the back garden, through a hole in the wall.

“So, on average, once a month, when he was going to read the water meter, he would take a pair of knickers. He said he had this sexual desire for the woman.”

The police investigation found that the man had been providing a water meter reading service at the couple’s home.

Since November last year, the woman had been finding her dirtied underwear in their back garden.

The suspect, according to police, would ejaculate into the garments and then throw them back over the couple’s wall.

Police seized photos of a sexual nature from his home.

The suspect was not remanded in custody, but he was charged with sexual harassment and stalking.

If found guilty, he could face up to seven years in prison.