On a weekly basis, we hear of someone following a child in Houston, or a situation where a kid walking alone was harrassed. I was in elementary school in a much smaller city than Houston in the 60’s. Even way back then, we had a man sitting in his car in front of the school offering candy to kids. I remember it well because the teachers came outside and watched us all cross the street for a few weeks - watching all the cars. Back then most of us walked home - I remember running and staying closer to the houses than the street because I was afraid.
I'm assuming that neither you nor any of your classmates took this guy up on his offer, if any of them had you would certainly remember, right?
So the upshot here is that you learned how to safely walk from school and survived in perfect health.
There were occasional stories of this kind when I walked to school in Chicago (early '70's). We were told what to be alert for and what to do and not do. I and all my friends survived unscathed to graduation. Worked for me and my kids (now 19 and 30) too.