BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – A transient was charged Tuesday with abducting a 9-year-old girl from her backyard and planning to sexually assault her. James Stephens, 44, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and attempted sexual assault charges.

The girl was rescued by her father shortly after Stephens allegedly dragged her from a backyard at the South Meadow Apartments on Saturday evening where she had been playing with friends. One of her friends alerted the girl’s father.

Michael Morgan said he found his daughter and the suspect behind the Price Chopper shopping complex on Shelburne Road. Morgan pushed Stephens against a wall and held him until police arrived, police said.

Stephens told police he intended to sexually assault the girl, police said. Stephens is a transient who came to Vermont five months ago from Arkansas, police said.