A man charged with a kidnapping and attempted assault of a teenage girl in Hartford in February is due in court on Friday.
Hartford police said Shawn Jarrett, 37, of Gillette Street in Hartford, approached a 17-year-old girl who was walking to school around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27 and tried to talk with her.
When the girl refused to talk with Jarrett, he grabbed her and dragged her into the laundry room of his residence and tried to assault her, according to police.
The teen struggled with Jarrett and was able to get away when a witness walked into the laundry room, police said.
Police found the victim at Hartford Public High School and she was able to identify Jarrett as the suspect, police said.
Jarett was charged with second-degree kidnapping, second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree breach of peace.
When he appeared in court on Thursday, he said he was trying to smoke marijuana with the girl and asked to be admitted to a drug detoxification program.
The judge granted the request and bond was set at $750,000.
Other charges are pending.
Police said Jarrett is a sex offender, but he is not listed on the online Sex Offender Registry for Connecticut or the National Sex Offender Registry.
In December 1995, at the age of 19, he was arrested in Hartford and charged with first-degree sexual assault and unlawful restraint, police said. He was convicted on a lesser sex charge.
News reports from the time said he was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in a home in the North End of Hartford.
Attorney William Gerace said defendants typically plead to be on the sex offender registry for only 10 years, as opposed to life, in their negotiations.
Since Jarrett is not listed on the state or national sex offender registries,there are no apparent restrictions on how close to a school he can be.
Court records also show that he was charged with second-degree unlawful restraint in Windsor in 2010. He was convicted on the charge in 2011 and sentenced to six months in prison.