The police call the 14-year-old student "courageous" for escaping from a suspect classified as a sexually violent predator.

09:12 AM EDT on Tuesday, September 23, 2003

BY PAUL DAVIS and MEGAN MATTEUCCI
Journal Staff Writers

NARRAGANSETT -- With one eye stinging from a chemical spray, a 14-year-old girl described by an aunt as "a tiny little thing" yesterday fought off a 6-foot, 230-pound attacker while on her way to school.

The girl was walking on a wooded path near Narragansett High School when Eugene C. Texter, a registered sex offender, allegedly grabbed her from behind and sprayed her with a "noxious substance," the police said.

"He grabbed her in a bear hug and said if she screamed, he would kill her," Lt. Jared Randall told a District Court judge.

The girl, who clawed and bit Texter, escaped with minor injuries, ran to school and alerted administrators. After a 15-minute search, the police arrested Texter about a mile from the school. The freshman was treated and released at South County Hospital.

Journal photo / Kris Craig Eugene C. Texter, 41, of Narragansett, is being held at the ACI.

"She's very strong, courageous," Narragansett Police Chief J. David Smith said. "She put up a good fight."

Texter, 41, of 145 Boon St., was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, assault with intent to commit murder and assault and battery with a dangerous substance. The felony charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 60 years.

Because Texter did not abide by his probation rules, he could face additional jail time, said Michael Healey, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.

Judge Patricia Moore ordered Texter held on $100,000 cash bail. He was also ordered to have no contact with the girl.

Superior Court Judge Edwin J. Gale ordered Texter held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions for violating a six-month probation period. Gale set a violation hearing for Oct. 6.

Texter, who wore a black T-shirt and tennis shoes in court, allegedly grabbed the student from behind while she was walking down a path from South Pier Road to the school. He sprayed a chemical at her eyes after showing her several pornographic photographs, Randall said.

As she ran away, Texter allegedly snapped a photo of the girl.

An aunt described the girl as quiet and withdrawn. The girl's mother has asked school officials to include their home on the bus route, so her daughter won't have to walk to school, the aunt said.

The police had been watching Texter because he had been "acting suspiciously" after registering with the department as a sex offender in July, Smith said. "His photograph is on the visor of some police cars," he said.

Although such attacks are rare, it "is a wake-up call" for parents, students and administrators, said School Supt. Pia Durkin.

The school will provide counseling to the girl, she said. Teachers yesterday were asked to discuss safety tips for students during advisory period.

"Parents and families tonight, at the dinner table or after soccer practice, should discuss how we can keep each other safe," she said.

Three police officers are assigned to the district's three schools. The school also has a crisis team including a school nurse, psychologist and others to handle such events, Durkin said.

Before moving to Narragansett, Texter worked at a building supply store on Route 1 and lived with his mother in Westerly, where he was a registered sex offender, said Westerly Chief Stephen N. Baker. "We monitored him the best we could," Baker said.

Texter got a job at a doughnut shop on Point Judith Road in Narragansett, and moved to an apartment on Boon Street, in the heart of the town's Pier section. He lived there with a common-law wife, the police said.

Texter has spent the last 20-plus years in and out of the ACI, having been convicted twice on sexual-assault charges, law enforcement officials said.

But he wasn't required to notify neighbors because his past crimes occurred before Megan's Law was passed in 1996. The law requires sex offenders to register with police departments and for the police to notify communities about serious offenders.

Prior to the law, Rhode Island required sex offenders to register with police departments so investigators could monitor them, Healey said. But the community wasn't told.

Texter has been classified as a level 3 sexually violent predator, Healey said. "The allegations against him cause revulsion. We will push for the heaviest sentence he can possibly get."

In 1989, Texter was sentenced to 8 years in prison and 12 years on probation for kidnapping and raping a New York woman. Texter used a fake police light to pull over the woman on Route 78 in Westerly. He drove her to a wooded area in North Stonington, Conn., handcuffed her to a barbed wire fence, cut off her clothes and raped her, according to court records.

In 1992, while still in prison, Texter was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 32 years of probation for breaking into a Westerly woman's apartment and sexually assaulting her, also in 1989, according to court records. Texter was released in May 1997, officials said.

Texter was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of probation in Januray 2003 for carrying a three-inch knife, photos of prior victims, a scanner and an earpiece, according to court records. He was released from the ACI on May 31.