Registered sex offender arrested after allegedly upskirting young girl at Ohio Walmart

WHITEHALL — A registered sex offender was arrested recently after allegedly trying to take a video up a young girl’s skirt at an Ohio Walmart.

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On Oct. 20, a young girl told staff at a Whitehall Walmart that a man was following her closely and she didn’t feel comfortable, according to our news partners at WBNS.

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When police reviewed the video, they said it appeared the man attempted to “upskirt or shoot a video up the skirt” of a young girl in the toy aisle.

They stopped the man, identified as Daniel Shope. He denied doing anything wrong, but he was arrested and charged with pandering obscenity involving a minor.

When searching his phone, police found dozens of videos.

“In addition to what occurred on that day at Walmart, there were about 15 videos just from that incident. There were also videos of him recording juveniles at a park. There were ladies at a convenience store that looks like maybe he works at,” Whitehall Division of Police Lieutenant Tanner Williams told WBNS.

Shope is a registered sex offender, according to police reports. In 2014, he was found guilty of third-degree sexual battery. Seven years later, in 2021, he was arrested on the Olentangy bike path for public indecency, engaging in a sex act.

Williams told WBNS that he feels for the victims.

“I have young kids myself. I couldn’t imagine that if this happened to one of my children, how upset I would be, how violated I would feel, how violated they would feel,” Williams said.

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