By Shannon Fiecke, Correspondent

With a nice build, tucked-in dress shirt and cell phone clipped to his waistband, Jamie Sames looked nothing like a pedophile and more like a police officer that he is accused of impersonating earlier this month to lure a 13-year-old girl behind a Wisconsin department store and assault her.

Authorities say the 35-year-old Shakopee man watched the girl steal a tube of mascara from Target and pulled her aside outside the store to search her. He reportedly told her to remove her pants and then touched her inappropriately.

Sames —already under investigation locally for child pornography —was arrested at his home last week by Grand Chute, Wis., detective, who traveled to Shakopee to confirm his identity.

A Green Bay couple who used to live in Shakopee recognized Sames from surveillance video that circulated Wisconsin media. They reported him to police after they called Sames and found out he’d recently been in Appleton.

Sames is being held in Scott County Jail, awaiting extradition to Appleton, Wis., where he is charged with sexual assault of a child and child enticement. Both are felonies.

Past history

Sames, a father of two boys and Shakopee native, has been accused of sexual impropriety before.

Six years ago, a neighbor caught Sames peeping into his second-story bedroom from a ladder. Sames maintained his innocence, but he was convicted in 2005 by a jury. He was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and have no unnecessary contact with the family. He was discharged from probation one year later.

Last fall, based on a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, police raided the Sames home on Anton Way, looking for child pornography. They seized video cassettes, a digital camera, video camera, computer, GPS device and other items.

The task force had reported that a user from Sames’ Internet Protocol address had offered up 51 files of suspected child porn for download.

Sexual assault

The latest incident occurred at Fox River Mall in Grand Chute, Wis.

According to court documents:

• The 13-year-old girl was at the mall with her friend on the evening of March 10 when she stole a tube of mascara from its package. When she noticed a man watching her, she told her friend they needed to go. After exiting the store, the man approached them and said he was an Appleton police officer.

• The man told the girl he wanted the merchandise back, and he had the packaging from the store shelf. The girl gave the man the mascara, and he told the girl’s friend to sit on a bench while he talked to her further.

• The man directed the girl to an area near dumpsters behind the store. He told her he was going to search her for stolen items. He pulled down her underwear and pulled up her shirt, touching her inappropriately. The girl could hear her bus approaching, and the man asked her if she needed to catch it. He told her he was finished, and she was lucky not to be getting a ticket.

• On the bus, the girl was emotional and crying. Adults overheard the girl tell her friend what happened and they told the girl to call police.
• Wisconsin television stations broadcast store video surveillance of the alleged attacker exiting the Target store. A Green Bay couple, who were former neighbors and are close friends of Sames and his wife, recognized him. They called Sames to make small talk and during the conversation, he indicated he had been in Appleton the previous week on business.
• The video images were shown to Sames’ wife, who confirmed they were of him. The victim identified Sames in a photo line-up. Sames admitted to police he had been in Appleton, Wis., and had stayed at a local hotel near Target.
• In a search of Sames’ home on March 17, police confiscated a watch, cell phone, clothing, receipts and other items to link him to the crime.

Shakopee police are helping the Wisconsin detectives with their investigation.

Sames is being held in Scott County Jail without bail. His next court date is March 26.

Shannon Fiecke can be reached at (952) 345-6679 or [email protected].