Lunenburg County Man Indicted on Child Sex Offenses Spanning 5 Years

William Earl Richardson
59 years old of Dundas, Va.

William Earl Richardson, a 59-year-old Dundas man of Cedar Creek Road, was indicted August 5, 2013 by the grand jury of the Lunenburg County Circuit Court on 15 felony offenses of sexual assault crimes against a child less than 13 years of age from 1994 to 1997, according to Kenbridge Police Chief Raymond Hite.

Richardson was arrested the next day, but released by the magistrate on an unsecured $10,000 bond, despite Virginia law designating the offenses as being subject to a presumption of no bond. Commonwealth Attorney Robert Clement filed an appeal which was heard in Circuit Court on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at which time Judge Richard Blanton agreed with the prosecution and remanded the defendant to Piedmont Regional Jail with no bond. Clement noted that the magistrate had granted bond solely upon his concern about the defendant’s health condition and had not even included a condition that the defendant have no contact with the victim, but Clement argued that the defendant is still mobile, that he drives himself around, that he had bullets in his pocket when arrested and owns multiple firearms, that he had repeatedly expressed extreme bitterness toward a key witness in the case, and that the victim had seen him recently driving by slowly looking at her in the parking lot of the Blackstone Walmart.

Chief Hite credited Officer Aaron Peter with many hours of investigating the charges against Richardson, and expressed appreciation for assistance from the Lunenburg Sheriff’s Office and the Lunenburg Department of Social Services.

Hite said hundreds of charges could have been placed against Richardson for weekly assaults by the defendant against his victim over the five years, but after consultation with the prosecutor, and due to short notice to prepare the indictments for the grand jury, a total of 15 felonies were agreed upon.

In particular Richardson is now charged by direct indictments with five counts of Rape of a Child Less Than 13 Years of Age, five counts of Forcible Sodomy, each of which count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and five counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery, each count of which carries a maximum of 20 years.

Richardson’s next court appearance will be September 3, 2013 to select a date for trial.