The stepfather of 13-year-old Chloe Ricard of Amesbury says the arrest of a Lawrence man in connection with her death brings “a little justice, a little peace,” to her grieving family.

Brian Dolan also said he wants to start a scholarship in her memory to help “keep her name alive.”

Ricard was dropped at the emergency room of Lawrence General Hospital at about 4:47 p.m. Monday, and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter, authorities said. Her family identified her at the hospital.

On Saturday, police arrested Carlos Rivera, 47, and charged him with two counts of distribution of Class B drugs to a minor, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, the Essex District Attorney’s Office said. He was held on $750,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Lawrence District Court.

Dolan said he and his family — including Ricard’s mother, Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan, and the girl’s two brothers — will be there to confront the man who authorities say gave drugs to Dolan’s stepdaughter.

“I hope God has mercy on his soul,” Dolan said of Rivera, adding, “I’m going to yell. I’m going to say something … I hope he gets his. If that was his daughter, he’d be doing the same thing. I don’t think he’d be feeding his daughter drugs.”

Rivera was arrested early Saturday morning at the Lawrence police station after being questioned by investigators, authorities said.

Dolan said a police officer messaged him at about 4 a.m. to say an arrest had been made in the case. Dolan woke up his wife, whom he said burst into tears.

“I was happy. I know there’s a little justice coming, but I hope there’s more,” Dolan said hours later in Amesbury, choking up with emotion. “Chloe was a great kid. She was 13 years old — 13. That just sticks in my head. She didn’t even go to prom. She’s not even going to graduate high school. There’s so many things this kid’s not going to do.”

Ricard “was a great kid,” Dolan said, but the death of her biological father five years ago “was very hard for her.” He admitted Ricard, “might have drank a little, she might have smoked weed.”

But Dolan — who has been married to Ricard’s mother for three years — said the teenager was a talented artist who loved to draw. He wants to create an art scholarship in Ricard’s name to benefit other budding artists like his stepdaughter.

“My heart’s broken,” Dolan said. “It’s very hard. You have to go to an arraignment and then you have to go to your daughter’s funeral in one day — that’s going to be real tough. My wife’s still beside herself.”

Investigators said that when Rivera allegedly brought Ricard to the hospital on Monday, he was accompanied by a girl under the age of 16. Both of the girls had been at Rivera’s apartment on Bellevue Street in Lawrence on Sunday and most of Monday, the district attorney’s office said.

Dolan said he knew who the other girl was, and said his daughter had been with her earlier in the weekend at their home before leaving for the friend’s house on Sunday. He said he had not heard of Rivera before.

Dolan said Rivera’s arrest brings “a little justice, a little peace.” But to “throw her off, (at) the door of the hospital like a bag of trash, I’m still in awe about that,” he said. “If they knew the kid was dead, they should have dialed 911 — that’s all. Have some compassion.”

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy Tuesday, but the district attorney said Saturday the cause and manner of the girl’s death had yet to be determined.

“I want to commend the entire investigative team who worked around the clock to determine the events leading to the tragic death of a 13-year old girl,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. “We will continue our diligent pursuit of justice for this victim.”

Lawrence police Chief Roy Vasque said Rivera’s arrest was “a huge step” toward finding answers.

“I feel for the family, what they’re going through, and hopefully when this is all said and done, they get some sense of closure,” Vasque told the Herald. “In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t bring her back. It’s another tragic, young life lost.”

Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Andrea Grossman said Saturday that DCF “received a report on this tragic situation and is investigating.”

A viewing for Ricard will be held Tuesday afternoon, followed by a private funeral on Wednesday, Dolan said.