One day after he was released from prison for touching women and taking “upskirt” photos, a 44-year-old northwest Georgia man was arrested for allegedly taking more pictures, police said Friday.
Heath Shields Franklin, 44, was arrested Thursday after allegedly following women in a Wal-Mart and taking pictures under their clothes, Dalton police spokesman Bruce Frazier said.
It wasn’t hard for investigators to track down Franklin: He was wearing an ankle monitor since being released Wednesday from Central State Prison. When Franklin failed to check in with his probation officers Thursday morning, investigators tracked him to the Wal-Mart on Shugart Road, Frazier said.
Franklin told his probation officer he had bought a new phone, according to police.
“He agreed to let them check his phone and they found a number of photos of women’s buttocks and also pictures of at least four women taken from angles that allowed the camera to view underneath the legs of their shorts or skirts,” Frazier said in emailed statement.
Franklin was charged with one count of unlawful surveillance. Investigators were reviewing surveillance video from the store to determine how many women may have been photographed by Franklin, Frazier said. Anyone who believes they may have been photographed or had contact with Franklin should contact Dalton police.
Franklin was released from prison Wednesday after serving over two years following a conviction for sexual battery, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He was convicted after taking pictures of women while he worked at a Dalton convenience store, Frazier said.
From 1989 through 2010, Franklin served three sentences in state prison, including from March 1992 until August 2010 for child molestation, records showed. He is also a registered sex offender, according to the GBI registry.
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