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Convicted sex offender arrested in attempted kidnapping

Posted at 6:12 PM, Nov 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-08 01:53:52-05

A convicted sex offender in St. Petersburg is in jail facing charges of attempted kidnapping and battery.

According to Pinellas County deputies, 52-year-old Theodore Coleman attempted to kidnap a 16-year-old girl. Deputies say he battered her and her 18-year-old friend during the attempted kidnapping.Coleman is on probation after he was convicted of kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl in Miami in 2012.

"He had told us we was going home with him and we wasn't going anywhere," the 18-year-old victim, who we are not naming, said.

The 18-year-old says her relationship with Coleman started about a month ago when he approached her at a gas station near her home. 

"He asked me and another friend I was with how old we are," she said. "He said that he owned a nightclub downtown and that we could work for him at his nightclub."

The victim says he took her number and contacted her later. He sent a taxi for her and her friend that was supposed to take them to his nightclub. The taxi dropped the two teens off at his home. She says he then hired her to clean, cook and go to the store with him. In exchange, he would buy the teen and her friends clothes and other items.

"He said he doesn't like to go to stores alone, when he goes grocery shopping and stuff, he just wanted us to go with him I guess to keep him company," she said.

It was after one of those trips on November 3rd, when she says he snapped. She says she was with her 16-year-old friend in Coleman's car when he started talking about sex. The two girls decided to get out of the vehicle when he grabbed at both of the girls. He eventually grabbed the 16-year-old's jacket and pulled her back into the car.

"He said she was going to spend the night with him," she said. "And told us he was going to have sex with us." 

Coleman was convicted of a sex crime in North Miami in 2012. According to the arrest warrant, Coleman offered a 13-year-old girl, who he saw walking, a ride home. She initially refused, but he insisted until she got into the car. He then offered her money for sex. She refused. He then took her to his home, forced her inside and raped her multiple times, according to the warrant.

According to court records, Coleman took a plea in the case. 

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, he never spent any time in prison. He was sentenced to 6 years of probation.