Spotsylvania man charged with attempted abduction of 9-year-old boy

A man who worked two weeks this spring as a substitute school bus driver in Spotsylvania County faces charges of trying to abduct a 9-year-old boy.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Liz Scott said Wednesday that 51-year-old Carl Frederick Rice of Spotsylvania was charged with attempted abduction. He is being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Scott said the child was riding his scooter Monday when the driver of a pickup truck told him a friend wanted to see him.

The boy refused the driver's offer of a ride and called his mother on a cell phone, prompting the man to flee. Rice was arrested at his home after the boy described the truck and the man's clothing.

A county schools spokeswoman said she could not disclose why Rice's stint as a bus driver was terminated May 6.

-- The Free Lance-Star