JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was arrested Monday night after abducting and trying to rape a girl, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Bernard Ethier, 25, of Jacksonville, is facing charges of kidnapping and attempted sexual battery.
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Police said it happened before 6 p.m. Monday at Portside Trailer Park on Beach Boulevard, just east of Hodges Boulevard.
According to his arrest report, Ethier not only followed the girl as she walked home, but walked beside her and began asking her personal questions.
Investigators said he then pulled the girl between a residential trailer and pickup truck, pulled down her pants and tried to rape her.
The girl told police she struggled with the man, who she did not know, and was able to get away. She then ran to the trailer park leasing office and called police.
She described the suspect to police, and officers went around the neighborhood and stopped Ethier.
The victim was able to identify him as her attacker and Ethier was detained at that time, police said.
He was booked into the Duval County Jail and ordered held on $500,000 bond.