Sex Offender Arrested in Chesterfield Township After Following Woman, Children in Store

A 45-year-old convicted sex offender was arrested Wednesday in Chesterfield Township after he followed a woman and her children around a store, township police said Thursday. 

Jeffery Atkins, was charged with one count of failure to comply with the sex offender registry and one count of disturbing the peace. He was held in Macomb County Jail in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond. 

The charges stem from an incident around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday inside the Michaels store at Gratiot near 23 Mile. A woman called 911 to notify police that a stranger was following her and her children around the store and she was afraid he would hurt them, township Detective Sgt. Deron Myers stated. 

Responding officers pulled up to the store to find Atkins following the family. They stopped him at the entrance. Store management told police that several female shoppers had complained about him following them, even telling a teenage girl she was "hot," according to Myers.

Although Atkins allegedly gave police a fake name at first, they learned his identity through questioning. Township police said his extensive criminal history includes sex crime convictions and stalking. Records show he served prison time for a criminal sexual conduct conviction in 2006 in Marquette. In that crime he followed a woman around several stores and touched her against her will, police said.

Atkins has been homeless since his April prison release. He faces up to four years and 90 days imprisonment if convicted on the recent charges.