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Bridgewater attempted kidnapping suspect previously convicted of rape

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — The man charged with trying to kidnap a jogger in Bridgewater over the weekend previously pleaded not guilty in a 1978 rape case, according to court documents.

Gordon Lyons was arraigned in a hospital bed Tuesday afternoon because police say he was injured when he crashed his car after the attempted abduction Sunday.

A bed sheet covered his face as he was ordered held in the hospital for now.

Police say he crashed his car minutes after he attempted to abduct a 37-year-old woman who was out for a jog Sunday morning.

Lyon entered a plea of not guilty, but was ordered held without bail in 1978 in a case out of Barnstable court.

Bridgewater police say Lyons assaulted the woman Sunday morning and then tried to drag her into his car. When she fought him off, he drove away.

MORE: Police: Man assaulted female jogger in Bridgewater, tried to abduct her

Police say the victim identified Lyons through an RMV photo, and she also took a photo of his car after fighting him off. Investigators said they matched up that photo with the suspect's license plate, when he crashed his car about 7 miles away.

Neighbors say the suspect lives a quiet life in a rental home on Main Street with his family, only about a mile and a half from the scene of the attempted kidnapping.