A 42-year-old convicted rapist, who is registered as a sex offender in several states, has been charged with trying to abduct a teenage girl in North Kingstown last night.

Anderson Price is accused of groping a 15-year-old girl on the street and entice her into a van. But nearby friends saw what was happening, police said today, and ran over to the van. Price then let her go.

A District Court judge in Wakefield set $50,000 bail with surety for Price, on charges of second-degree sexual assault and enticement of children, both felonies. Price said today he could not afford a lawyer.

North Kingstown police asked that high bail be imposed, with Detective Lt. Robert Desjarlais saying there is an active warrant for Price for failing to register as a sex offender in Louisiana.

Price is listed as a violent sexual predator with the National Crime Information Center. In 1993, Price was arrested and convicted of rape in Atlanta.

In 2005, a warrant was issued for Price's arrest in Louisiana for failing to register as a sex offender.

He has registered as a sex offender in Georgia, Maine, and, last week, in Rhode Island, according to North Kingstown police Capt. Charles Brennan. Price is not yet listed on the Rhode Island sex offender Web site because he just registered last week.

Public defender John Plummer asked for the surety bail for Price, saying he came to Rhode Island a few weeks ago and works as a shipbuilder at Quonset Point in North Kingstown. Plummer indicated that Price came here after a fire in the plant where Price had worked in Maine.

Police gave the following account of the incident last night:

At about 8:10 p.m., the police got a call from a resident claiming three men tried to entice a 15-year-old girl into getting into a green van with them.

In her statement, the teenager said the suspect put his arm around her and offered her an ATM card. He was walking her to the van, she said, and grabbing her breast. She said she felt that the suspect -- who is 6-foot, 4-inches tall and 240 pounds -- was forcing her to go with him.

The girl's friends saw what was happening, according to the statement, and ran over to the van. The suspect released the girl, who then told her mother what happened.

After getting a call about the alleged abduction attempt, North Kingstown patrol officers and detectives and Rhode Island State police troopers hit the streets, looking for the van.

It was found in the Wickford Motor Inn parking lot, 7650 Post Road, which Price has listed as his address, according to police. The police found two men who were with the van and brought them in for questioning.

Both were taken into custody. Price was held; the second man was in the van, according to police but not involved. He was released.

The police were looking for a third man, a possible witness, for questioning.

–– With reports from projo.com staff writers Brandie M. Jefferson and Michael P. McKinney, and Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney