A registered sex offender faces trial Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on the side of the road after intentionally causing a traffic accident to get her to pull over.

Prosecutors say Rasaan Raymon Patton, 31, of Perris followed the teen in June 2008 as she drove home in her parents’ minivan in Huntington Beach.

They say Patton caused the minor accident around 2:40 a.m. on Yorktown Avenue. When the girl pulled over and got out of the van, Patton forced her behind the vehicle, out of sight of passing motorists, and sexually assaulted her, they said.

The Orange County district attorney’s office said the girl was able to escape and drive home when Patton became startled by passing cars. Prosecutors said Patton did not know the girl.