East St. Louis, IL (KSDK) - A high school assistant track coach charged with sexually abusing a student turned himself in Thursday afternoon, the East St. Louis Police Department said.
According to detectives, Earlest Johnson admitted to sexually abusing a student from East St. Louis Senior High. He was charged Saturday with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and agreed to turn himself in.
On Monday, police heard Johnson was headed for Chicago, but were unsure if that was true. On Sunday, NewsChannel 5 reported that Johnson served as a part-time barber, cutting hair out of the basement of his home.
Detectives said a teen came forward last month, claiming he was abused by his barber. The victim did not go to school in the district.
Johnson admitted to abusing the teen and has been cooperative in the investigation, police said, which is why authorities allowed Johnson to turn himself in, rather than make an arrest.
"Johnson is not a flight risk he didn't have anywhere to go. He's not a flight risk, and the two times that we talked with him, he came in on his own and spoke with us and so we don't believe him to be a flight risk. He's been in the community all his life," said East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Floore.
Johnson served as an assistant track coach in 2010 and 2011, but was not asked to return for the 2012 school year. Police said he instead offered to volunteer his services to the school and passed a background check conducted by the FBI.
Johnson has been jailed on a $250,000 bond. Police are encouraging others to come forward if they've had an encounter with Johnson.
KSDK