A convicted sex offender tried to snatch a teen school girl off the streets as she walked to school in the East Village, sources said.
The 13-year-old was walking to school on Avenue B around 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, when predator Jose Mendoza, 35, pulled up in his black SUV and said “hey, you’re beautiful,” sources said.
The girl ignored the creep and continued walking but the man became more aggressive and tried to pull her into the car, law enforcement sources added.
The victim managed to break away and the creep fled, police said. The girl ran to a nearby deli for safety but saw the same sicko lurking in the area 45 minutes later, sources said.
Cops showed up and the girl was able to identify her attacker, who is listed on the state’s sex offender registry and considered a level 2, or medium-risk, offender, sources said.
Mendoza was charged with attempted kidnapping.
He has a rap sheet that includes pot possession, assault, harassment and forcible touching and sexual abuse of a stranger in 2004, which landed him on the registry, sources said.