BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Rogers man has entered a not guilty plea in a case alleging that he attempted to kidnap a teenage former co-worker.

Dennis Mulhern, 49, was arrested on September 5 and charged with attempted kidnapping and second degree stalking after an incident involving a 19-year-old woman outside the Red Lobster restaurant in Rogers.

Mulhern entered the plea in the Benton County Circuit Court on October 11. Judge Brad Karren scheduled an omnibus hearing for November 14.

On September 3 around 11:59 p.m., a 19-year-old female reported she was getting off work at Red Lobster and was walking to her vehicle when Mulhern, a “previous work acquaintance,” came up behind her and attempted to put a cloth bag over her head. The female resisted and both she and Mulhern fell to the ground.

The victim told investigators that Mulhern said “I just want to talk” after they fell to the ground. She reported watching him walk to another business as she got away and ran back to the restaurant.

Officers questioned Mulhern at his residence, where he initially denied seeing or speaking to the victim “in months.” He later changed his story and admitted to being at the restaurant that night.

He told officers that “he was upset” with the victim because “she was telling people at Red Lobster he had raped her and he wanted to talk to her about it.” He denied putting a bag over her head or “doing anything like that.”

The victim was 16 years old when she began working with Mulhern and she told officers that he “had always attempted friendship with her” but that they had never been in “a dating relationship.” She added that he “continued to bother her” for approximately a year after he stopped working there.