Southfield Police arrested 45-year-old Detroit resident Dale Frye after he was accused of taking illicit photos of a 9-year-old girl in the restroom of a Michaels store in Oakland County. The incident happened on October 22 at the store on Telegraph Road. Police say the girl called for her mother right away, which started the investigation. Surveillance footage, facial recognition technology, and phone signal data, with help from the U.S. Secret Service, placed Frye at the store. He was arrested at his home and charged with capturing and distributing images of an unclothed person and using a computer to commit a crime. During the announcement, Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said, “We made that nine-year-old a commitment that we were going to find the person responsible for taking those images,” according to CBS News Detroit.
Southfield police body-camera footage captured the arrest of Dale Frye at his Detroit home, an incident Police Chief Elvin Barren described as “very disturbing,” while commending the 9-year-old victim for her attentiveness and courage, as reported by WXYZ. The child received an award at the press conference recognizing her bravery, and her mother expressed relief after the arrest, saying, “My daughter, she's a very resilient, strong girl, and honestly, some days, she was both of our strength,” as per CBS News Detroit.
Frye is being held on a $30,000 bond, and his case is scheduled to return to court on December 8. Police said detectives worked thoroughly on the investigation and have taken steps to strengthen safety measures. Chief Barren, as mentioned by WXYZ, stated, “He thought he had gotten away with what he had done because he seemed very excited when we said we were going to return some items back to him, but little did he know, the handcuffs were following that conversation,” quoted. Authorities noted that the case underscores the need for awareness in public spaces and the value of quick reporting in aiding investigations
