PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A human trafficking sting operation in Chester County has ended with a suspected child molester from Florida behind bars.
James Richards, 53, of Satellite Beach, Florida was arrested while visiting Chester County over Thanksgiving week and charged with attempted rape of a child, trafficking in persons and related offenses.
An undercover detective posing as the mother of a fictitious 9-year-old girl arranged a meeting with Richards, in Phoenixville, to have sex with the child.
According to Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe, the defendant had lubricant, Skittles candy and $300 on him when he was arrested.
“He wasn't going to give it to the child, he was going to give it to the undercover [detective] acting as the child's mother,” he said. “He was going to give money for sex for both of them.”
The district attorney says authorities received a tip call from a witness that Richards allegedly raped an unknown 10-year-old in the state of Florida and that he was headed to Chester County for Thanksgiving.
That's when the sting operation went into play, “and so we used that witness to get in touch with him to set up this sting operation,” said de Barrena-Sarobe. “We worked with our partners at the Phoenixville Police Department and [Homeland Security Investigations] in order to make sure we would do that successfully in the bounds of the law.”
Richards is currently held at Chester County Prison on $2 million cash bail. Anyone with information is asked to call Chester County Detectives.