A former track coach at East St. Louis Senior High School was sentenced Thursday to two years probation for the attempted criminal sexual abuse of a 15-year-old boy.

Earlest A. Johnson, 35, pleaded guilty to the crime, a misdemeanor, as part of negotiations in which prosecutors dismissed two felony charges of criminal sexual abuse against him.

St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said the case against Johnson had become “a salvage operation” because Johnson had originally confessed to East St. Louis detective Orlando Ward, who was later convicted of federal drug crimes.

The abuse occurred in Johnson’s home on several occasions from 2011 to 2012, police said.

Johnson was charged in 2012. He will remain on probation through Dec. 9 of 2015.

Kelly said that Johnson’s conviction on the misdemeanor charge would require the former part-time track coach to register as a sex offender, which brought some satisfaction to the victim’s family.

A Philadelphia youth football coach accused of raping two boys is facing additional charges, authorities say.

24-year-old Leon Watson of the 2400 block of West Diamond Street was charged last month with sexually assaulting two young brothers, ages 8 and 9.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday new charges against Watson involving three more boys, who authorities say played football for Watson’s neighborhood team, and an intellectually disabled man.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the three boys frequently slept over at Watson’s house and were assaulted in his home.

Watson was arrested on November 10th and charged with the rape of the two young brothers. The boys had moved into Watson’s home back in October, investigators said, but did not release any further details.

An anonymous tip led investigators to Watson’s home and he was arrested.

“It’s actually happening too often now,” said Michelle Dooley. “You leave your kids here in the care of these people and trust them, then you hear something like this. It’s disheartening; really sad.”

Officials with the Raiders say Watson was not an official coach. But in cell phone videos obtained exclusively by Action News, Watson can be seen with whistle in hand coaching the boys.

Mike Nitka is on the Raiders board of directors.

“He came up in August, tried to help out, he did helped out a couple of times, and he kind of just stopped coming around,” said Mike Nitka.

And that’s around the time, police say the two boys moved in with Watson at his North Philadelphia home.

Investigators say the boys’ parents are estranged and looking for a place to live. Watson took them in and allegedly began sexually assaulting them.

“I thought they were his kids,” said Eddie Ray. “But I guess they weren’t his kids. They probably have no guidance, and this is the only person who took interest in them, and they relied on him for everything. It is shame he took advantage of them.”

Officials with the Raiders say most of the coaches have been coaching for decades.

In the past, background checks were conducted, but they stopped in recent years.

Authorities say Watson also coached a team called the Little Vicks in North Philadelphia. They are urging parents to talk with their kids.

“It definitely gives me an opportunity to talk to my sons to talk about their coaches’ good and bad touch, and that this type of thing happened,” said Lynn Johnson.

The league says anyone officially coaching or even helping out will require background checks immediately.

The DA said investigators believe there may be more victims and is urging parents involved with Rhawnhurst Raiders or “Little Vicks” football teams to speak to their children. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to call 9-1-1 or the Special Victim’s Unit at 215-685- 3251.

The DA also said there is a phone line and email address to report sexual abuse. That phone number is 215-686-8019 and the email address isda.victimservices@phila.gov.

Watson is currently being held on $500,000 bail.

Tennessee’s Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed a 225-year sentence for a former youth pastor convicted of raping three boys as a juvenile.

In an opinion filed on Tuesday, the court ordered that Tavaria Merritt be resentenced to 50 years in prison.

Merritt pleaded guilty to raping the boys, ages 10 and 11, while he was serving as a youth pastor at their Lebanon church in 2009. He was 17 years old when he committed the crimes.

On Tuesday, the appeals court ruled that the original sentence was excessive. The court found the trial court judge erred by substituting his own experience for the evidence in the record when determining the damage suffered by the victims.

One of the three appeals judges dissented, saying a 75-year sentence was more appropriate.

Montgomery police confirm a man has been arrested on a sex crime charge involving a juvenile.

Patrick Monfiston was charged with first-degree sodomy. Police say the incident happened Sunday in the 3500 block of Whiting Avenue and the victim is a girl who Monfiston knows.

Monfiston is being held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility on $60,000 bond.

A homeless man convicted last month in the 2011 robbery and sexual assault of a Schiller Park grandfather in Grant Park was sentenced to natural life in prison plus seven years today, according to prosecutors and court records.

Cortez Foster, 47, was convicted Nov. 1 of aggravated criminal sexual assault and robbery in the attack on the 65-year-old man starting just before midnight on March 25, 2011 in the 800 block of South Michigan Avenue near the park’s Logan Monument, according to prosecutors and court records.

On Thursday, Cook County Criminal Court Judge Dennis Porter sentenced him to natural life in prison on the sexual assault charge, plus another 7 years for the robbery conviction, according to court records.

The night of the attack, the victim was walking in the park when Foster went up to him and started punching and kicking him, took the victim’s pants off, assaulted him with a tree branch and stole his cell phone, prosecutors have said.

A passerby saw the victim leaning against a concrete railing and wearing no pants after he had walked north a short distance, and the passerby called police, prosecutors said. About 12:15 that morning officers found the victim, who was unable to speak, in the 700 block of South Michigan Avenue.

The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for multiple facial fractures and cuts, and underwent surgery because of the sexual assault.

Police investigators traced the victim’s missing cell phone to a nearby apartment complex and found the man who had it, who told detectives he gave Foster three Viagra pills for the phone, prosecutors said. Investigators figured out who Foster was by checking a log book at the apartment complex, and found Foster at the Pacific Garden Mission.

Foster had been on parole after being released from prison after serving part of 20-year-sentence for a 2001 armed robbery conviction. After his arrest, he admitted to police he became angry and attacked the 65-year-old victim at the park, officials said after his arrest. He also had two other felony convictions, including in a 1991 robbery and sexual assault case.

A 19-year-old man has been accused of attacking two mentally disabled brothers and raping one of them Wednesday at the DART Lake Highlands station, according to police documents.

DART police say Kristopher Erin Miles attacked the two minutes after snatching another man’s cellphone on a train.

According to arrest warrant affidavits, a man told a DART officer at Mockingbird Station that Miles grabbed his phone and ran out of a train at the Lake Highlands station. Surveillance video captured Miles sprinting out of a train and the Lake Highlands station at 5:24 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

Within minutes, Miles reappeared in DART surveillance video. He played with a cellphone while lying in the grass, police said.

Police said Miles later walked over to the brothers after watching them briefly. Video shows him burning one of the brother’s faces with a lit cigarette, police said.

Miles then grabbed the other brother, demanded money and struck him in the head. Miles got $6, according to the documents. He then took both men to a bus shelter out of the cameras’ view, police said.

The brothers told police that Miles sexually assaulted one of them after ordering the other to turn around and not look. The brothers also told police that Miles threatened to take them to southeast Oak Cliff to kill them.

Miles then hopped on a DART Blue Line train. A camera monitor spotted Miles at DART’s West End Station. Miles got on another train but was detained at Union Station. When officers searched Miles, they found the first robbery victim’s phone.

Miles has been charged with injury to a disabled person, theft from a person and aggravated robbery. He has not been charged with sexual assault.

DART spokesman Mark Ball said he didn’t know if the victim who alleged the rape allowed a rape kit examination.

Miles remained in Dallas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of $150,000 bail. His attorney declined to comment.

Miles had been released from the jail about a month ago after serving time on a misdemeanor assault charge, court records show.