AUBURN – A convicted sexual predator was behind bars again this week after he was accused of following teenage girls at Wal-Mart and trying to look up their dresses.

Jeremy McCown, 22, of Lewiston, was charged with criminal attempt to violate privacy as well as violating terms of probation.

McCown was arrested last week after he was spotted acting suspiciously around girls shopping at the Mount Auburn Avenue department store.

“The allegations right now are that he was using some type of device to look up their skirts,” said probation officer Mike Simoneau. “We’re not sure exactly what that device was.”

Simoneau has been McCown’s probation officer since last summer when he was convicted on other charges involving teenage girls.

Last August, McCown was charged with kidnapping and attempted kidnapping after luring a 13-year-old girl into his car and attempting to pick up others. In that case, police said McCown followed the teenagers as they walked to the Middle School in Lewiston on the first day of classes.

In an agreement, McCown pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one of criminal restraint. He served less than six months in jail and was released in February.

As part of his probation, McCown is forbidden to have any contact with girls under the age of 18.

Investigators say McCown on July 28 targeted girls believed to be 15 or 16 years old at Wal-Mart. None of the girls were hurt.

“A woman from the community was shopping at Wal-Mart and she noticed he was acting suspiciously,” Simoneau said. “She called the police and they called me.”

McCown was later arrested by Lisbon police while he was at work at a car dealership in Lisbon Falls. He has remained jailed since.

Court officials consider McCown a high-risk sexual offender, Simoneau said. After his conviction last year, he was ordered to register as a sex offender with the state.

At a court hearing Tuesday, McCown was ordered held at the Androscoggin County Jail without bail until a later hearing. He could face up to three years in prison on the probation violations if convicted. The charge of violating privacy carries a sentence of up to a year.