Parental complaint leads to arrest of Kansas man
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JUSTIN RICHARDS-OLBY
Feb. 29, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department received a complaint of indecent solicitation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, grooming, and child pornography. An investigation followed and led to the arrests of Justin Lee Howard Richards-Olby, 22, of Wellington, Kans.
The parents of a child under the age of 13 years old discovered their child had been communicating with an adult male for several months through various social media websites.
The case was assigned to Chief Deputy Zack Orr, a member of the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Orr took over the messaging between the victim and the suspect. Orr was successfully able to elicit identifying information from the suspect, who still believed he was messaging the victim.
Multiple search warrants were obtained and executed to identify the suspect. Upon receiving information obtained from the search warrants, Orr deciphered the information through the ICAC database and observed numerous open cases involving the suspect for possession and dissemination of child pornography in the Kansas.
Orr identified the suspect and obtained an arrest warrant for him in Pike County, Illinois.
The investigation led Chief Deputy Orr and Deputy Zach Hardin to Wellington, Sumner County, Kans.
Orr met with members of the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the Wellington, Kans., Police Department, where law enforcement officials tracked the suspect to an apartment located in the 800 block of Woodlawn, Wellington, Kans.
March 13, at 9:15 a.m., law enforcement officials took J into custody without incident. Richards-Olby was transported to the Sumner County Jail.
Chief Deputy Orr continued the investigation and executed a search warrant at the apartment, where additional electronic devices were located and seized.
Upon waiving extradition, Richards-Olby was transported to the Pike County Jail, where he remains lodged.
Richards Olby is charged with the following offenses in Pike County: count 1: indecent solicitation of a child, a class 1 felony, count 2: indecent solicitation of a child, a class 1 felony, count 3: indecent solicitation of a child, a class 1 felony, count 4: indecent solicitation of a child, a class 1 felony, count 5: indecent solicitation of a child, a class 1 felony, count 6: child pornography, a class X felony, count 7: child pornography, a class X felony.
Based on a forensic examination of electronic devices, additional charges are pending.
Chief Deputy Orr said, “As a parent, it is very easy to become complacent with your child and their use of social media. Parents must check their children’s cellular phones and electronics to see what they are doing. This case was difficult to work on based on what the suspect said he was going to do to the victim. The suspect, on more than one occasion, told the victim he was going to “kidnap” her and “force impregnation.”
The messages sent from the suspect to the victim were some of the most disturbing, horrific, and vile messages I have seen in my 25 years of law enforcement.”
The following entities assisted with the investigation Children’s Advocacy Center, Pittsfield, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office,Kansas ICAC Task Force, Wellington, KS, Police Department, Sumner County, KS, Sheriff’s Office, US Department of Homeland Security, Wichita, KS, Police Department.