HOUSTON – A tip from a Channel 2 viewer led police to a registered sex offender who is now charged with exposing himself to a 7-year-old girl.
Police say 59-year-old Virgil Johnson was caught on surveillance camera last week at the Value Dollar Store on Lyons Avenue in northeast Houston.
WATCH: Surveillance video of man exposing himself to child in dollar store
A Channel 2 viewer who saw the story spotted the same man at a strip center about four blocks from the store two days later and called police who went there and questioned the suspect.
When the arresting officer located Johnson, he was "wearing the same skull cap he is wearing on the day of the incident from August 8th, 2018," according to court records.
Johnson has an arrest record going back to the 1980's that includes convictions for burglary, theft and indecent exposure. In 1993, Johnson was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the aggravated sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl. He is currently on parole for that case.
Monday, Johnson was arrested and charged with indecency with a child after he was identified in a photo lineup as the man who allegedly exposed himself to the girl.
It was also said in court that Johnson is an Army veteran and served for three years before he was honorably discharged.
WATCH: Virgil Johnson makes his preliminary court appearance
He is currently being held without bond.
The girl’s mother says her daughter no longer wants to go shopping with her, and has trouble sleeping since the incident. The woman says she’s glad Johnson is off the street and can’t harm anyone else. She says she wants to see him locked up for a long time.