BOISE - The trial has begun for a man accused of luring an intended rape victim to a Boise park with the promise of a free iPod digital music player.

Stephen Newman, 32 was charged with attempted rape last year after a woman called police to report that someone appeared to be sitting in wait at a West Boise park. Newman's trial began Friday.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Armstrong told the jury that Newman was obsessed with rape and planned that evening to sexually assault someone. Newman's defense attorney, William Osterhoudt, countered that though his client may have a dark side, he is a non-violent person and that he was just playing a prank.

Prosecutors and police said Newman placed an ad on craigslist offering a free iPod in a public park bathroom and that on July 27, 2007, he waited in his Ford Explorer for someone to claim it.

A woman who answered the ad called police after seeing a man who she thought was sitting in wait in his car near the bathroom. Police arrived and arrested Newman, reportedly finding him with a laptop, gloves, a large strap, a plastic pellet gun and a large kitchen knife in the sport utility vehicle. The vehicle's back seat was folded down, according to police.