A former bus driver with the Lawrence Transit System received a 32-month prison sentence Thursday for grabbing a clerk inside an adult-novelty store — an act the driver later told police was an attempt to rape the woman.

Rodney D. Stevens, 37, McLouth, also must register as a sex offender and pay $2,000 in restitution to the victim.

Stevens, who hasn’t worked for the T since his arrest in May, apologized in court Thursday — saying “I’m sorry for what I done” — but the victim wasn’t there to hear it.

She skipped the sentencing out of fear, her mother said.

“She’s very terrified that if this man is released, he will hunt her down and try to find her,” the mother told Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin. “She doesn’t ever want to see him again.”

Stevens, who drove a bus equipped to carry riders with physical disabilities, frequented Priscilla’s, an adult-novelty store at 1206 W. 23rd St., and thought the 21-year-old clerk was attractive, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shelley Diehl said.

On May 22, Stevens drove through the Priscilla’s parking lot to make sure the clerk was the only employee at the store, then went to work, Diehl said. Stevens drove his bus to the Dillons store across the street and parked it there, Diehl said.

Inside the store, Stevens grabbed the clerk and pulled her 10 to 15 feet toward the secluded adult-movie section until she struggled free and pushed an alarm button, Diehl said.

Stevens — who had no criminal record — was charged with attempted rape and attempted kidnapping. He later pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery, a felony, and criminal restraint, a misdemeanor.

Stevens has been in the Douglas County Jail since his arrest.