Police arrested Brandon Keith Petering, 25, at a sex-offender class at 10 a.m., about an hour after the abduction attempt, Lt. Jason Cross said.
The Victoria man also grabbed a woman by the waist at the Central Park Apartments just before the college attack, Cross said. Petering did not try to force that woman into his car.
"He went from doing that to going to a sex offender class a few minutes later," Cross said. The class was in the 3000 block of North Navarro Street.
Early Monday morning, a Victoria College employee noticed a car circling the parking lot and wrote down the license plate number, according to an e-mail College President Tom Butler sent faculty and staff less than an hour after Petering's arrest.
The school doesn't have a fast way to alert students about threats, so faculty should read the e-mail to classes, it read.
Clarice Puckett graduated from Victoria College and is pursuing a nursing degree at the University of Houston-Victoria. She had not heard about the attack when she visited the campus bookstore late Monday afternoon.
"I have never felt unsafe here," she said. Still, she does not come to the campus late at night and is always careful to watch her surroundings, she said.
Being aware of what's around you is key to safety, Cross said.
Petering pleaded guilty to indecency with a child on Jan. 9. He was accused of exposing himself to a 2-year-old girl in June 2007.
He was sentenced to 10 years probation, although Cross said it's possible that now will be revoked. Petering served 20 days in jail earlier this year as part of his probation.
Although Petering's sentence requires him to register as a sex offender, his name did not appear in a Department of Public Safety online search Monday.
Petering is in the Victoria County Jail. He has not yet been formally charged, Cross said.
"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte
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