Kansas man pleads guilty

By Editor | October 8, 2024 |

JUSTIN LEE HOWARD RICHARDS-OLBY

Justin Lee Howard Richards-Olby, 22, of Wellington, Kans., pled guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to the following charges: indecent solicitation of a child (class 1 felony), indecent solicitation of a child (class 1 felony), indecent solicitation of a child (class 1 felony), indecent solicitation of a child (class 1 felony), indecent solicitation of a child (class 1 felony), child pornography (class x felony), child pornography (class x felony).
Richards-Olby was sentenced to10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on six counts. Richards-Olby was sentenced to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on count seven. The sentences are to be served consecutively for a total of 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Richards was also sentenced to lifetime sex offender registration and fines.
The case began Feb. 29, when the Pike County Sheriff’s Department received a complaint of indecent solicitation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, grooming, and child pornography.
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.
Chief Deputy Orr took over the messaging between the victim and the suspect. Chief Deputy Orr successfully elicited 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, Chief Deputy Orr processed the information through the ICAC database and observed numerous open cases involving the suspect for possession and dissemination of child pornography in the State of Kansas.
Chief Deputy Orr identified the suspect and obtained an arrest warrant in Pike County.
The investigation led Chief Deputy Orr and Deputy Zach Hardin to Wellington, Sumner County, Kans.
Chief Deputy Orr met with members of the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the Wellington, KS, 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 Justin Lee Howard Richards-Olby, 22, of Wellington, Kans, 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 wass charged with the following offenses in Pike County, Illinois:
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 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.
“As a parent, it is very easy to become complacent with your child and their use of social media,” Chief Deputy Orr said “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, Jacksonville Police Department, Pike County State’s Attorney’s Office.