WAUKESHA, Wis. – A man pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing more than 1,500 pairs of girls' shoes from area schools in a deal that calls for prosecutors to recommend probation.
Erik D. Heinrich, 26, of Kenosha pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and was scheduled for sentencing Oct. 23. He told police he did it for sexual gratification.
He was arrested May 24 after a security video showed him entering North High School on May 20 and leaving with some items. Police tracked him through his vehicle registration, searched his home and a rented storage unit and found the shoes.
Police have said Heinrich worked for a cable company and collected keys to the schools as he responded to calls. He used the keys to burglarize three Waukesha public high schools and one middle school six times during the past two years, according to a criminal complaint.
Police discovered the break-in at North High School after several female students reported that the locks on their lockers had been cut and their shoes stolen.
Heinrich has a previous shoe-stealing conviction, in 2005, that was dismissed at prosecutors' request after he completed a year of probation, counseling and 50 hours of community service.
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