Did Rapist Skate Due to DuPont Family Ties Only to Rape Again?
Sometimes, it takes a few hours to absorb a story. Such is the case here. And here. Go ahead and read. Seriously, I’ll wait. You have only to read this excerpt from McJournal to get your blood boiling:
A du Pont family heir who received no prison time after pleading guilty to raping his 3-year-old daughter nearly a decade ago faces a lawsuit from his former wife that accuses him of sexually abusing his toddler son.
Robert H. Richards IV, 47, on probation after pleading guilty in 2008 to fourth-degree rape of his daughter, has never been charged with crimes against his son. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Superior Court provides in-depth details about a child rape case that did not receive media attention and Delaware authorities never disclosed publicly.
And the alleged rapist?:
(Robert) Richards is a scion of two prominent Delaware families – the du Pont family, who built the worldwide chemical empire, and the Richards family, who co-founded the prestigious corporate law firm Richards Layton & Finger. Du Pont family patriarch Irenee du Pont is his great-grandfather. His father, Robert H. Richards III, was a partner in the law firm until his 2008 retirement.
Richards IV is supported by a trust fund and paid $1.8 million for his 5,800-square-foot mansion near Winterthur Museum. He also lists a home in the exclusive North Shores neighborhood near Rehoboth Beach as a residence, according to the state’s sex abuse registry.
So, he pled guilty in 2008 and got probation. For raping his toddler daughter. Let’s see…who was AG in 2008? That’d be Beau Biden, scourge of pathetic old men viewing kiddie porn on their computers. The guy who has made keeping kids safe from predators his principal (only?) issue. How is it that a child rape case prosecuted by Biden’s office did not receive media attention and Delaware authorities never disclosed (it) publicly? We get multiple press releases from Biden’s office every week proclaiming that they’ve arrested yet another (passive) degenerate for viewing stuff in the privacy of his own home. Yet, an heir to both the DuPont family fortune and the Richards legal empire gets probation (he pleaded guilty!) for raping a three-year old?
If this isn’t a scandal, I don’t know what it. If he’s physically up to the task, would it be asking too much for our AG to explain how he could possibly have allowed this?
How could an AG allow a child rapist to go free (it was a plea deal) and not even alert the public of his presence in the community?
Even by Delaware Way standards, this appears to be one of the worst misfeasances in office I’ve ever seen, if not the worst.
The Attorney General must make a statement on how he allowed this to happen. And, if it doesn’t pass the smell test, then his flaks should stop sending out press releases proclaiming him to be a hero when it comes to fighting child predators.
Because, on the surface, it sure looks like he allowed this guy’s connections to enable him to get away with rape. Not once, but quite possibly, at least twice.
Tags: AG Beau Biden, El Somnambulo, Robert Richards Delaware, Steve Tanzer Delaware
There must be some mistake. It is axiomatic that people with huge fortunes and family connections are virtuous.
You know what? I’m so angry, I can’t even joke about this one.
Asked about the case, Biden spokesman said, “we can’t comment on that.”
Wish the reporter had asked one more question: Why?
Scary stuff guys. Considering the number of pedophilia cases coming out of DE of the past, current and most likely future that have not only made national but international news DE could soon become known as something other than the first state. Doctors and politicians apparently aren’t immune to prosecution so why not the mega wealthy? Maybe this is the forum that gets that changed? It has to start somewhere!
“Because we don’t want to.”
I don’t think the next question theory would have worked to produce any info.
Knows better is correct. This type of Delaware Way stuff has to stop. The AG’s website is filled with headlines about how the office is protecting children. There’s an arrest announcement naming another child predator, and the guy is nowhere near conviction yet. It is time to demand that the attorney general answer some questions.
He could have put this guy away but didn’t, and now he allegedly abused a second victim. Tom Crumplar is no dummy. He would not have taken this case or gone public with this allegation unless he knew it to be true. Who in his right mind would accuse someone, especially someone from the Dupont family, of abusing his son?
The office phone number for the criminal division is 577-8500, and the email address is attorney.general@state.de.us.
Jason:
“Because we don’t want to.”
I don’t think the next question theory would have worked to produce any info.
…. Exactly. Asking the question wouldn’t have provided any more information, but it would have shown an effort to hold Biden’s office accountable for its decision.
And the public has a right to hear such an arrogant response … as it’s quite likely it would have been as you predicted.
@ Jason 330 wrote “Because we don’t want to.” That’s cool…don’t rock the boat theory working here? In the past rumors have been kept quiet until facts were known then all hell breaks loose here. Cat is out of the bag now and how does it best happen that this pedophile gets more than a spanking this time around? Richards can’t make it right but he sure can pony up what’s helps the victims best.
At least the ex is smart enough to do something before time runs out.
Uh, knows better? Jason was stating what the Biden response could well be and underscoring its arrogance.
They’ve been using the same tactic on his health.
BTW, ever notice how none of our politicians ever come out and talk about their transgressions? Coons on his disastrous vote for civil rights chief, Carney and Carper on everything, Biden on his health and now this.
Silence.
They just hope we’ll forget and move onto something else.
We need to move onto multiple somebodies else. To replace them.
Most humble of apologies offered to El Somnambulo and Jason 330 in that I’m not adept to reading what isn’t written or easily understood/taken for granted by those that read all that is written here. The ?”knows better”? comes from a post I once participated in long ago and knew better than any who wrote as I had first hand knowledge. Long before that I used real name when I did albeit seldom comment.
I do not offer that I “know better” on much in life regarding this and many other subjects here and eat the slice of humble pie offered up! When I do comment again I will use something more humble…
“knows better” just comes up on the screen and if I do feel I “know better” I will use it at that time. Fair enough?
To comment on the post at hand I will state that I’m sick of seeing the mega wealthy slide by and hope the ex, on behalf of the kids, CLEANS HIS WALLET OUT.
Also happy that the NJ posted his picture.
This sickens and saddens me. The attorney generals office is tough on crime with those who don’t have the financial resources to fight back, typically black males. And, who the Hell was the judge that agreed to this?! I assume it was prosecuted in Family Court and would fully have expected those judges to act in the best interests of the children, not the wealthy father!!
They’re also tough on poor schlubs sitting at their keyboards looking at kiddie porn.
But apparently not on kiddie rapists with powerful and wealthy families.
I hope that what passes for the media does not let this story slide.
I’m not trying to justify what happened here, but given the timeline in the article as I understand it, even if Richards had gone to prison in 2008, instead of taking the guilty plea, that would not have prevented the abuse of his son, which appears to have occurred in 2005-07 (according to the article).
Good point, Dan.
Which raises the question. In light of the news of this civil suit, is the AG’s office even CONSIDERING going to court to send this guy back to jail in violation of his probation?
Or do they consider the second (at least) alleged rape a freebie since, as Dan points out, he pled out on the first offense AFTER he’d committed the second offense?
In short, does Beau Biden consider this guy LESS DANGEROUS than the degenerates he arrests for sitting in front of their laptops?
If so, is he fit to serve the public he’s sworn to protect?
@Dan: It’s not about preventing the second crime. It’s about giving an actual rapist a harsher sentence than an onanist.
“Scourge of pathetic old men viewing kiddie porn on their computers’ is exactly correct. And some pathetic young ones too. The amount of resources being devoted to that is stunning. Would love to hear the AG’s office’s response to the story, if they make one.
Just got a press release from Biden’s office proudly trumpeting the arrest of a 25 year-old man on charges of having child pornography on his computer. Here is the release:
“Child Predator Task Force arrests Felton man on child pornography charges
Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that an investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force has a led to the arrest of a Felton man who now faces charges that he dealt in child pornography.
“Our Child Predator Task Force puts police and prosecutors side by side to track down those who seek to hurt our kids,” Biden said.
As part of an ongoing investigation into the distribution of child pornography on the Internet, the Child Predator Task Force and the Delaware State Police executed a search warrant on March 21 at a residence on Vineyard Lane in Felton. As a result of the search warrant, multiple computers and other digital media were seized and taken to the DSP High Technology Crimes Unit for forensic analysis. A forensic preview revealed that a seized computer contained multiple images of child pornography.
During the search, a person of interest, John Doe, age 25, a resident of the Vineyard Lane address, was taken into custody. Doe was subsequently charged on March 21 with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography. He was arraigned via video phone by JP Court #2 and is being held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 secured bail.
The Child Predator Task Force investigation continues. A booking image of Doe is attached.”
The guy’s name (I’ve obviously changed it) was mentioned in the press release three times. A picture was attached. This for a guy who has only been arrested, not convicted.
Robert Richards pled guilty to raping his three-year-old daughter. Biden’s office never mentioned his name, never mentioned his arrest, never mentioned the conviction, never mentioned the plea deal, never made anything public about the case at all.
That office can crow all they want about ‘predators’, they let a well-connected child rapist go free and never even provided Word One to the public. They’re a bunch of phonies.
Wish I had a relevant comment other than it’s sad the mega wealthy get a pass, and another pass. Karma will get him in time. Usually does in one way or another.
All things happen for a reason and one day we will know the why on this one.
One clarification: The records and documents in the criminal case, as I understand it, have always been public. They were not sealed or hidden. The dockets and charges and hearing schedules and transcripts are all open for public inspection. Biden’s office may not have issued a press release about the case, but they don’t do that for every case, either.
Was this a scummy deal for a rich rat bastard? Yes. But neither Beau nor the judge who let the guy off the hook are going to answer questions about this, so don’t get your blood pressure up too high about it. Outrage gets you nowhere with a case like this. Getting even does.
I get it.
But I don’t intend to let things go back to ‘normal’ until/unless Biden explains this.
ElSom & SW,
Back in the day the statewide “newspaper of record” regularly published, albeit in 6-point type, listings of all sentencings and grand jury indictments. This case is but another example of a story being more sensational because it was first told years after the incident occurred. I recognize that editors and publishers must make decisions to maximize the use of their available resources but it annoys me to see stories like this one that might have been written in a timely fashion had the paper not reduced its commitment to the often tedious components of community news and public service reporting.
TMVol A@5:28 – The wealthy have the courts, and the rest of us have Karma, just as the founding fathers envisioned.
Jason330..totally agree. I also add that in time it always comes back around. Sometimes it takes decades. In this case we can all rest assured that although justice hasn’t happened (yet) this one lives a miserable life compared to the rest of us. I can’t imagine him as anything other than a friendless outcast and there is some solace in that image.
Can we agree that it’s the mega wealthy…and connected…that have the courts? Even with that in mind Capano didn’t slide by and he was both wealthy and connected.
“This case is but another example of a story being more sensational because it was first told years after the incident occurred.”
I don’t think so. It’s being told years after the incident because they knew how sensational it would be any time it was discovered.
As for the loss of the agate court records, the geniuses running the place back then dropped it (along with the real estate records) to save the salary of a clerk. They were the same geniuses who decided that an arrest of then-Rep. Al O. Plant’s son (or grandson, I don’t recall) for robbery was not a news story, so the only place it ran was in the court agate.
A lot of commenters (ant the title of the post itself, impliedly) are concentrating on this guy’s wealth, but Robert Richards IV is also connected. I believe Senator Bill Roth was his uncle, and retired judge Jane Richards Roth is his aunt (father’s sister). That may have counted for more in the end than duPont wealth. Beau’s father and R. Richards’ uncle were longtime colleagues. Wouldn’t be surprised if the son and nepherw have known each other for years. And any attorney is going to consider what a federal judge may think of his actions.
Didn’t Joe help Jane Roth to become a Federal judge?