A northwest Georgia man faces four charges in Tennessee after he allegedly exposed himself to a young child last year.
While out on bond, the Dade County man is accused of doing the same thing in Whitfield County last month, prompting a manhunt that led to his arrest last week in Alabama, according to multiple media reports.
As a result, 37-year-old Thomas Justin Wooten faces three additional felonies in Georgia, including child molestation, enticing a child and indecent exposure, according to Whitfield County Jail records.
In March 2018, Wooten was arrested by Chattanooga police after he allegedly exposed himself to the child and tried to lure him into his pickup truck, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. He was charged with two counts of soliciting a minor and two counts of indecent exposure, Hamilton County, Tenn., court records show.
When he bonded out, he had to register as a sex offender in Dade County, where he lives, the newspaper reported. GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles told AJC.com that he no longer shows up in the GBI's online sex offender registry because he's currently incarcerated.
On Nov. 15, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into Wooten after he allegedly exposed himself to young children near Cavender Road, the Times Free Press reported. Calhoun police were also investigating Wooten based on his vehicle, which was the same one Chattanooga police used to tie him to their case.
Several law enforcement agencies collaborated to find Wooten in Huntsville, Ala., and arrest him. He has since been extradited to the Whitfield County Jail, where he remains without bond.
Since he faces another sex-related crime, he was charged with a violation of his sex offender registration in Tennessee as well, according to court records.
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