Teen talks after attempted abduction by man ID'd as sex offender by police

HARVEY, Ill. -- Robert House, III, was walking to school Thursday morning when a stranger in a van asked him to get inside.

"Next thing you know, he asked me again. And I said no. And that's when I had the instinct to run," House said. And that's what the 16-year-old boy did.

The man House ran from is convicted sex offender Sean Drysdale, police said. Two city workers- Johnnie Morgan and DaShawn Dandridge- saw the interaction and got involved.

"As he took off running, the man pulled back and started talking to us, saying he was afraid of a white man," Johnnie Morgan said. "That caught my eye automatically because his running really caught my eye when he said, 'No.'"

Dandridge kept Drysdale occupied while Morgan called 911. Two minutes later, Harvey police were on the scene. Officers were familiar with Drysdale, 43, who was released from jail one year ago after serving a 10-year sentence for molesting an 11-year-old girl. The head of Harvey's sex crime unit had just met with Drysdale last month, they said.

"He likes to deal with children. It is a good thing to see that he got caught," Harvey Police Commander Darnell Kell, sex offenders unit, said.

"If he didn't get caught yesterday he would be making his move today or the day after. So just grateful we could make a difference in our community," Dandridge said.

House's parents are proud of their son.

"This shines a positive light on the city of Harvey. There are good things happening in Harvey. Great children are being raised here," Robert House, Jr., said.