HOUSTON – A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in an elevator at an H-E-B in the Heights appeared before a magistrate judge on Friday. Court records revealed he is the suspect in a different sexual assault case and is a convicted sex offender.
Florian Kroll, 29, was charged with failure to register as a sex offender and sexual assault.
The Houston Police Department began canvassing the area after they received reports of sexual assault over the past few days.
According to court records, the St. Pius X High School principal told police a man matching Kroll’s description was seen talking to girls from a sports team earlier this month. Days later, on Jan. 15, he was seen pulling on door handles trying to enter classrooms.
The school released a statement that said:
On Tuesday, January 14, an individual was seen on our campus at a home basketball game. At that time, we had no indication that he may have been involved in a recent assault, and no reason to believe that he was a threat to our students, staff or visitors. We learned from personnel that he was seen walking the halls of the building in search of the gym. While in the gym, our on-campus security noticed his behavior and escorted him off campus. On Wednesday, Jan. 15, facilities distributed a screenshot of surveillance video to SPX administration and personnel who monitor the controlled entrances and exits. Shortly after dismissal, he was seen on our campus and was immediately intercepted and escorted off and out of proximity of students by our director of facilities while on-site security was radioed and arrived. Once he was approached by security, he left; security followed him while our facilities director called 9-1-1. After a time, security lost sight of the individual off campus. At approximately 3:50 p.m., the school enacted “Shelter in Place” protocol, and all students were moved into a building and all entrances and exits were secured. Students were only allowed to leave campus under adult supervision. They were escorted to their cars to drive themselves home or had to be collected by a parent/guardian. 'Our students’ safety is our top priority. It was because of the observations of our personnel and the quick following of procedures that this man was immediately intercepted on Wednesday. He was never in our building ‘pulling on door handles trying to enter classrooms’," Jacquelynn Conger, Director of Communications. We have no indication that the person on surveillance was on the SPX campus prior to Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Police began to check surveillance cameras at businesses, apartments and homes nearby. He was spotted on Ring cameras in the neighborhood on Donovan Street. He was seen wearing a checkered shirt and holding a white skateboard, which matches the same description of the person involved in the incident at H-E-B.
During court, it was stated that police found Kroll taking out the garbage at an apartment on West Oak Street, which is less than five minutes away from St. Pius X and Donovan Street.
Police saw him enter a car and later pulled the car over for failing to use its signal. The driver, Kroll’s uncle, was arrested for outstanding city warrants. Kroll was then also taken into custody.
Court documents showed he was living in the apartment for about a month, which is near Dunham Elementary School. Kroll is not allowed to live within 900 feet of a school, because he’s a convicted sex offender.
Police said Kroll failed to register at his new home. He was convicted for indecent exposure with a child back in 2015.
As of Friday, Kroll remains in a Harris County jail with a $50,000 bond.