Tip from Google leads to Texas child porn arrest

HOUSTON - A 41-year old Houston man was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography Thursday after Google sent a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

John Henry Skillern was allegedly sending explicit images of a young girl to a friend when Google detected the images and alerted authorities, police say.

"He was trying to get around getting caught, he was trying to keep it inside his email," said Detective David Nettles of the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce reports the station. "I can't see that information, I can't see that photo, but Google can."

Skillern was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy in 1994 and is a registered sex offender, according to the station.

After the tip, authorities obtained a search warrant and allegedly found child pornography on Skillern's tablet device and phone, along with messages expressing his interest in children, reports KHOU.

Skillern was a cook for a Denny's in Pasadena, Tex., and police say he had videos on his cell phone of young children visiting the restaurant with their families.

The suspect has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of promotion of child pornography. He is being held on $200,000 bail, says the station.