On December 1, James Richards, 53, of Satellite Beach, Florida, was charged with attempted rape of a child, trafficking in persons, and other crimes after traveling to Pennsylvania over the Thanksgiving holiday to sexually abuse a child.
Chester County police initiated their investigation after a witness allegedly reported that Richards admitted to sexually assaulting a child in the presence of the child’s mother. Then, authorities report that Richards traveled from Florida to Chester County with the intention of purchasing sex from who he believed to be a 9-year-old child for $300.
Undercover officers arrested Richards when he arrived at the pre-arranged meeting with items he was asked to bring, including money and Skittles candy.
Richards was arraigned and his bail was set a $2 million. His preliminary hearing date was held on January 7, 2025 and is now awaiting trial. Investigators are trying to identify the child who they believe Richards may have sexually abused.
Under Pennsylvania law, an individual is guilty of trafficking if they recruit, entice, solicit, patronize, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, advertise, or maintain another person for a commercial sex act. To be guilty of sex trafficking of a child, the prosecution must only prove that the defendants engaged in soliciting, enticing, harboring, obtaining, patronizing, or transporting a minor who is or will be subject to sexual servitude.
Here, if the facts alleged are true, Richards’ agreement to meet the fictional child and pay for sexual acts meets the elements of solicitation and patronizing and constitutes the crime of sex trafficking. Under both federal and state law, any commercial sexual exploitation of minors constitutes sex trafficking because children cannot consent to be bought or sold for sex.
The CSE Institute commends the diligence of Chester County law enforcement for their efforts in investigating and arresting Richards. Law enforcement must remain vigilant and dedicated to protecting the youth in their communities by conducting investigations that target child sexual abuse. We must persist in criminalizing human trafficking and the exploitation of young, vulnerable individuals, as doing so will significantly decrease the demand for commercial sex and reduce human trafficking as a whole.
We urge law enforcement to continue taking steps to protect their communities by conducting thorough investigations into suspected sex trafficking and encourage prosecutors statewide to utilize the human trafficking statutes when appropriate.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.