Suspect arrested in 2013 kidnapping, sexual assault of Cypress teen

A 24-year-old man has been arrested and charged in the 2013 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in Cypress, the Harris County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday.

Levi Austin Goss, 24, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child. According to investigators, in February 2013, Goss is believed to have attacked a girl walking to Cypress Woods High School, dragged her into a grassy area near a movie theater, struck her with a blunt object fracturing her skull, and sexually assaulted her. Investigators say the girl played dead and waited for her assailant to leave before seeking help.

According to the sheriff's office, Goss was linked to the 2013 attack through DNA evidence. Goss is a member of the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where he is being investigated by military authorities in connection with another sexual assault case, the Harris County Sheriff's Office says. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science was notified by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory that Goss' DNA matches evidence collected from the victim in the 2013 Cypress attack, according to HCSO.

Goss is being held on a $1 million bond at the Cumberland County Jail awaiting transfer to Harris County. Goss faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the first-degree felonies.