A Bismarck teenager says she was raped last month by a convicted sex offender who was a friend of her parents.

Police arrested James Bernard Baker on Tuesday, and he was charged Wednesday with three counts of gross sexual imposition, each a Class AA felony. Court documents showed Baker also was charged with two counts of failure to register as a sex offender.

According to police, the 15-year-old girl claimed Baker threatened to physically harm her, then forced her to have sexual intercourse. Police said Baker, age 40, was a friend of the girl's parents. The alleged incidents were to have occurred on March 14, March 18 and March 21. They were reported Tuesday afternoon after the girl visited a clinic with her mother and a representative of the Dakota Children's Advocacy Center.

Because he was convicted of sexual assault in 2002, Baker is required by law to register as a sex offender and notify authorities when he moves. Police said Baker's most recent listed residence was on South 13th Street, but that he had instead been living with friends.

Baker's conviction was in Cass County. On the state's sex-offender Web site - www.sexoffender.nd.gov - Baker is listed as a low-risk offender.

South Central District Judge David Reich set Baker's bond at $50,000.