Arlington Heights man charged after offering Barrington students ride

An Arlington Heights man was arrested and charged after two 13-year-olds reported that he offered to give them a ride home from school, police said.

The 13-year-old students from Barrington were walking home from the bus at about 3:15 p.m. Friday when a stranger in a vehicle stopped and began talking to them, police said.

The man asked the students “How far are you walking?” and “Do you need a ride home”? while stopped on Prospect Avenue near Waverly Road, according to police.

The students said no, but one of them wrote down the license plate number in her cellphone, according to police.

Police arrested Rodney T. Peterson, 33, of the 500 block of West Miner Street Monday and charged him with disorderly conduct.

Peterson was driving a 2002 dark colored Lincoln four-door sedan, according to police.

Police said the incident is not believed to be related to a similar report in Barrington on Jan. 20.

Authorities are commending the students’ quick actions to record the license plate and decision to tell their parents as soon as they got home.