A convicted sex offender from Mississippi is accused of raping a 15-year-old Slidell girl four times over 10 months, stopping at her house and raping her if she was alone.

David Scott Meaders, 38, of Picayune, Miss., was booked Monday with four counts of forcible rape of a child, Slidell police Sgt. Brian Nicaud said. Mississippi authorities also are investigating allegations that Meaders first raped the girl in a FEMA trailer in Pearlington, Miss.

After agonizing for months about threat that “bad things would happen” if she told anyone, the girl told her mother, who went with her to the police station Thursday, Nicaud said. “She was very apprehensive and afraid, but she got to the point that she said to herself, ‘This has got to stop,’” he said.

She told detectives that in April, she and two other girls, ages 13 and 14, were leaving a movie theater when Meaders drove up with his 16-year-old nephew, who knew them.

Meaders asked if they wanted to go for a ride. They agreed, and he drove them to a FEMA trailer in Pearlington, about 12 miles east of Slidell, Nicaud said.

He said Meaders offered the girls a white powdery substance that looked like cocaine. When the girls refused, Meaders grabbed the 15-year-old, pulled her into the bedroom and raped her, Nicaud said.

Months later, police said, Meaders began showing up at the girl’s Slidell home, walking inside uninvited when she answered the door. “One time she got him to leave by saying her mother was on her way home, and another time he left because she had a friend over,” Nicaud said. “But on four occasions when she was home alone, he raped her.”

Detectives got a warrant and arrested Meaders on Monday at his Slidell workplace, said Nicaud, who did not know the location.

Forcible rape is punishable upon conviction by five to 40 years in prison, with at least two years to be served without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the alleged rape in Pearlington, including whether Meaders’ nephew was a knowing accomplice in the incident, Nicaud said.

He said authorities are trying to locate the FEMA trailer. The girls saw a sign indicating they were in Pearlington, but are unfamiliar with the town and could not recall where the trailer was, Nicaud said.

In 1996, Meaders was convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile after he fondled a young boy’s genitals near Slidell, according to court records.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, with three years suspended. Upon his release from prison, Meaders was required to register as a convicted sex offender.

Meaders is registered as living in Mississippi, but police suspect he moved to Slidell in recent weeks, Nicaud said.

He said detectives are investigating whether Meaders missed a deadline to register in Slidell within 10 days of moving there as required by state law.